The Chosen Ones
by The Night Lord
Summary: EDITED! Synchronised with After the Fall. Takes place a year after Buffy Season Seven. Buffy and the gang are training new Slayers around the world, while someone or something is plotting their demise. Crosses over with After the Fall every now and again
1. Prologue

**This has been rewrittened, but it follows the same kinda storyline, just like After the Fall. Hope you enjoy the new version**

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Is there ever a time when you have stopped and thought about the world, thought about how to change it, make it better for everyone else? Or what about actually making a difference. A really big one. One that swept the world rapidly and changed the future for a lot of young women

I know I made such a difference, with some help from my friends of course. In one climatic battle against the most ancient and original evil, my best friend, Willow, used the power of a mystical scythe to transform all potential slayers into actual slayers, all gaining the abilities that only Faith and myself had possessed. But the battle wasn't without loss. My other best friend, Xander, lost his ex-fiancée Anya and I lost Spike, the recently ensouled vampire who gave his life to close the Hellmouth and effectively destroying Sunnydale at the same time. We also lost a few newly activated Slayers in the fight, slayers who won't be forgotten, as the rest of us, all five hundred of us, carry on the fight against evil

Sometimes I miss Sunnydale. I don't know why, I just do. Guess from living there for seven years will have that effect on you. You grow attached to the place. And there was always excitement of some kind nearly every night. Whether it be a thousand-year-old vampire trying to raise hell, a humanoid cyber-demon wanting to make an army, a hell-god wanting to destroy the world or the very first and original evil wanting to wipe you out, there was never a dull moment

Shame I can't quite say the same about nowadays. Sometimes it would get dull. Maybe because I'm not the only one who has to race out and save the day anymore. If I really wanted to, I could retire and let everyone carry on in my place, but I can't. I can take time off, but my duty calls me to continue fighting

Sometimes, a girl's work just never ends

But I manage to deal with it, training the new slayers and leading them into new missions, teaching the ropes of the work, or so to speak. Which is how we ended up on this mission to rescue a few human hostages from some demons in a church. The church was surrounded by a force field, but due to the technology we had, we were able to break through them easily. I had Leah, Satsu and Rowena, three of my favourite slayers with me on this mission, as well as two other slayers on the other side of the church, while Xander was back in Scotland, watching over our shoulder through the video com-links we all had

"How's it going there, Buff?"

"Going good. We're about to head in. Leah?"

Leah nodded and stood by the door, as did Rowena. I kicked the door open and Satsu stepped inside, one hand on her sword hilt, the other gripping her harpoon gun. I followed after her and instantly saw the demons. They were massive, with green skin and large tusks. Then I saw the dead hostages lying at their feet

"We were too late," I said

"Not for them," Rowena said

"Slayers!" shouted one of the demons

Leah and Satsu fired their harpoons, but man, those demons were fast, easily avoiding the harpoons, before coming right at us

CRASH! SHLUK! SHLUK!

Two of the demons went straight down, a harpoon protruding from their mouths, having been shot into them from behind. The other two slayers came into the room via the window, as I faced the last one remaining, as it looked between us all

"Nowhere to go, buddy, so you might wanna start talking and hope you can talk good enough humanese," I said, "Why did you kill the humans?"

"Twilight is coming, Slayer," the demon hissed

"Yeah, that sounds very cool, but doesn't tell me much," I answered

The demon looked around at us again, before snarling and lunging towards me. I quickly ducked under its claws and kicked out at its feet, tripping it up and throwing it over my shoulder. I whirled around, as the slayers trained their guns onto him. The demon got to its hands and knees, snarling, as I grabbed a nearby weapon. Which turned out to be a crucifix. Who would've thought?

"Start talking," I said

The demon snarled and was about to move, but four harpoons later and he was attached to the floor, as I headed over to him, mindful to keep away from his jaws, which contained very large and sharp teeth

"Tell me, why are you here?"

"Not saying anything"

"Okay, fine"

The demon lunged and I reacted instinctively: jamming the end of the crucifix in his head, pinning him to the floor. The demon let out a final hiss and I removed the crucifix, before tossing it aside

"Impulsive, don't you think?" asked Leah

"Not really," I answered, "Okay, feeling a little weird cause of the whole "crucifix killing someone thing", but I'll deal"

"Yeah, not real big on the whole religion thing," Leah said, "But it look cool"

I raised an eyebrow at her

"Buffy, check this out," called Satsu

I went over to her. She was kneeling next to one of the bodies and was pointing to his chest. A symbol was cut into his chest, looking like a star over a straight line and a curved line over that one

"Okay, little weird"

"Whatcha got?" Xander asked

"Got a strange looking symbol here," I answered, "Satsu, get a copy of that for Xander. Xander, send that symbol to Giles, see what he says. I want to know all about it, ASAP"

"Got it, Buff," Xander said

"They look self-inflicted," Satsu added

I look closer and sure enough, the symbol did look self-inflicted. Adds to the weirdness factor. That and I found something else: a rifle

"This doesn't add up at all," I said, "Why did these guys have weapons? I thought they were hostages"

"Maybe they were demon hunters," Rowena suggested, "But here are the generators for the force field. They look like a human design"

"Okay, now I am seriously confused about this," I said, "What is going on? These guys have guns and force fields, trapping themselves with these demons. It's all bad math"

"Hopefully this symbol will tell us more," Leah said, "Clear most things, if not everything, up and tell us what these guys were doing here"

"Hopefully," I said, "Come on, let's get out of here. I wanna head back home"

Home. Not Sunnydale home. Command Central home. A castle that we owned in Scotland. Where me, Dawn, Xander and about fifty slayers all lived. The slayers had been split up into ten squads of about fifty. Xander and I watched over fifty in Scotland, Giles had fifty in England, Andrew had fifty in Italy, Wood and Faith had fifty in Cleveland, where the new Hellmouth resided, Willow and Kennedy had fifty in Brazil, Vi and Rona were in Australia with another fifty and the other squads were all over the earth with slayer leads. Us Scoobies were pretty spread out. It had been such a long time since we were all together. Ever since the Hellmouth closed and Sunnydale was turned into a crater. And it's just been hectic ever since, with all the searching and training of slayers

Told you a girl's work is never ends

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	2. Back Home in Scotland

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Buffy and her group of slayers returned to Scotland, heading to Command Central. The slayers got cleaned up and changed, as Buffy headed to the command room, where Xander was, talking to another slayer about a mission that was happening. Xander looked up when Buffy entered the room and walked over to her

"How you feeling, Buff?"

"Fine now, I guess"

"Hey, about that symbol? I made a copy and sent it to Giles. Still haven't got a call back from him. But I had a couple of slayers going through the records and I'm afraid to say it, but we've got nothing so far"

"Oh, well, that kinda sucks"

"Don't worry, we'll find something. We always do. If we're lucky, it might not be anything big"

"And if we're unlucky?"

"Well, I kinda don't want to think about that. I'm more the positive kinda guy"

"How's Dawn?"

"She was fine the whole time you were gone. You don't have to worry so much about her, Buff. She's nearly an adult and she's got us"

"I know, but is it wrong to be concerned about her when I'm gone"

Xander smiled at her

"No, I don't think so"

"Mr Harris, we've got a development with the Barcelona squad," called a slayer named Renee

Xander gave Buffy a small smile and excused himself, heading over to Renee, as Buffy began to leave the room

"Hey, Buff, maybe later tonight, we can take a look at the symbol," Xander suggested

"Yeah, sounds good. I'm free," Buffy said

Xander turned back to Renee, as Buffy left the room and began wandering down the hallway, until she once one of the slayers bedrooms, where she found Dawn hanging out with several slayers, chatting happily amongst them

"Hey, how's it going?" Buffy asked

Dawn looked up and smiled when she saw her sister there. Getting up from the bed, Dawn headed towards Buffy and gave her a small hug, before stepping back

"You're back"

"Always come back"

"How'd the mission go?"

"Just any other mission. With just more added weirdness than usual"

"Oh boy, doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"So, when can I go on a mission?"

"When you're fully trained"

"So, let's go and do some training. Please? I really want to go on a mission"

Buffy sighed and looked past Dawn to the slayers

"Who's up for some training before the sun sets?"

"Sounds good," answered Rowena, "I'm up for it. Leah?"

"Yeah, come on guys, let's go," said Satsu

Buffy stepped back as the slayers left their room in a stampede and headed downstairs and outside

"Coming, Dawn?" Buffy asked

"Yeah"

Buffy and Dawn left the hallway and headed outside into the field where the slayers were all waiting. Dawn joined them and began handing out wooden swords to them all, before giving one to Buffy and taking another for herself. Buffy smiled to herself, marvelling at how much Dawn had grown over the years.

"Okay, so we'll continue on from last lesson, which was learning how to use our most valuable asset that we have," Buffy said, "Each other. One slayer fighting alone is formidable. Two is formidable. Three? Mega-formidable and after mega, it goes up to super, hyper, crazy, whatever. It gets exponentially prefixy."

Buffy took a small breath and gazed at the slayers before her, before focusing her attention on the three that were closest to her.

"Leah. Satsu. Rowena. Would the three of you please kick my ass?"

The three slayers immediately advanced on Buffy, as she stood calmly, moving only when the three attacked. The rest of the slayers and Dawn watched as Buffy defeated the three slayers with minimal difficulty. The fight was short-lived and quickly, Leah, Satsu and Rowena were all on their arses, while Buffy was standing amongst them.

"So. Three perfectly valid avenues of attacks. Good form…on three seasoned well-trained _corpses_," Buffy said, "one of whom, sidebar: has her best hair ever; Satsu, you're making me think I need a new look, see me after. So, let's break this down. The first clue this was going downhill?"

"They all attacked at once?" suggested a slayer.

Buffy gave it a quick thought.

"That could work well, if it was done correctly. They came at me at once, full on and direct. Not one of them tried to circle around to try and distract me," she replied, "That could be another clue. Got another?"

None of them answered.

"Right, well, I'll let you figure it out amongst yourselves," Buffy said, "Right now, get a partner and get practising."

The slayers broke down into pairs, as Dawn headed towards Buffy and got ready.

"On my call," Buffy said, "Remember, no attempting to kill each other. Use each other's moves to your advantage. Go."

Buffy faced Dawn, as the slayers began their sword practise.

"Come on, Dawn, give me something," Buffy said.

"Okay."

Dawn swung high, but Buffy dodged it, before swinging her sword back, aiming for Buffy's stomach. Buffy tucked her stomach in and blocked Dawn's next strike, before whirling around and touching her sword to Dawn's neck.

"Good try, Dawnie."

"Hey, no fair."

"Who says it's ever fair? Gotta use your feet a bit more, Dawn."

"Okay, okay."

"And again."

The slayers kept doing their training until the sun went down, then they all headed inside, chatting about their training and wondering what tomorrow would bring

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	3. An Unexpected Visit

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"Still no luck on the symbol?" Dawn asked

"None whatsoever," Buffy answered, "And we were up for most of the night trying to work it out"

"What'd you come up with?"

"An upside down frown, guy with a monocle frowning and a sunset. All which mean nothing to us"

"Has Giles called back about it?"

"Nope. Giles would be doing whatever Giles would be doing"

"Surrounded by books, books and more books"

"Hey, Xander told me he wanted to see you"

"About what? I just saw him about half an hour ago"

"Things can change in half an hour"

"I know. Is it important?"

"Uh, depends"

"Depends on what?"

"Depends on how you see it. It's Robin"

"Is he okay? Is Faith okay? Are the slayers okay?"

"Buffy, stop freaking out. Just go see Xander and he'll tell you"

"Okay then"

Dawn headed off, as Buffy sighed and headed towards the command room. Xander was there, talking to Robin Wood on the large screen

"Hey, Buff," Xander greeted

"Hey, Xand. Hi Robin, how's it going?"

"We're going good. Actually, I called you guys to let you know about something"

"What?"

"Faith left Cleveland"

"What?" asked Buffy

"Yeah. Took me by surprise as well. She packed up most of her stuff, mostly weapons and left here a few days ago. I haven't been able to contact her since"

"Any idea of where she went?" Xander asked

"None whatsoever. I called here because I think you would be able to find her much better than I can"

"Don't worry, Rob, we'll find her," Buffy said, "And find out why she left"

"Well, honestly, we kinda drifted apart if that's any help," Robin said

"And I thought you guys were so happy together," Xander said, "I mean, you were the only guy Faith went back to for a second round and more," he added with a slight bitterness

Robin gave him a small smile

"But no hard feelings of course," Xander said

"Anything else, Robin?" Buffy asked

"Nope, just letting you know. I'll see you guys some day"

"Bye, Robin"

The screen went blank, as Xander turned to Buffy

"So, where do you think Faith would have gone to?"

Buffy shrugged

"We could ask the psychics"

Xander nodded and headed towards the psychics, who were looking into some large red ball of energy

"Hey, Karly, want to ask you something"

"What is it?" Karly asked

"Robin just told us that Faith has left Cleveland and has no idea where she is. Reckon you can find us for her, please?"

"I'll try"

Karly and the other psychic, Joan, leaned closer to the energy ball, tapping into the magic. The inside of the ball was swirling around with a white substance, which began to form into Faith, before breaking down and reforming into a large city

"Faith is in Los Angeles," Joan answered

"What is she doing there?" Buffy asked

"And Los Angeles is in great danger," Karly added

"What do you mean, great danger?" Xander asked

"There has been great evil brewing in Los Angeles for some time now," Joan answered, "And it has spilt out into the city. Demons are rampaging through the streets, causing chaos in the city of angels"

"Oh my god, Angel," Buffy said, "What can you tell me about Angel?"

The image of Los Angeles faded away, as an image of a destroyed building appeared. A sign saying 'WOLFRAM & HART' was lying broken outside

"Angel is unreadable. His signature is clouded. We do not know"

"Wolfram and Hart are down," Xander said, "Think Angel might have destroyed them?"

"Or maybe they destroyed him"

Buffy turned to leave

"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Xander asked

"I have to go to L.A.," Buffy answered, "I need to know if Angel is alright"

"I'm sure he's fine"

"But he's unreadable right now. He could be dead for all he know"

"And is that a bad thing?" Xander asked, "I mean, he did take over as CEO of Wolfram and Hart, which is an evil corporation as we know. How do you know that you won't end up finding Angelus instead of Angel?"

"I have to see for myself"

"Maybe that's why he's unreadable. Because he doesn't have a soul"

"That doesn't track by soul"

"But if you are going, you better take someone with you"

"I'll take Dawn"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She's always bugging me to go on a mission. She can come with me"

"Okay then"

Buffy left the room and began searching for Dawn. Just as she found her, an explosion suddenly rocked the castle. Dawn fell off her bed, as Buffy headed towards the window, but couldn't see anything

"Dawn, are you okay?" Buffy asked

"Yeah," Dawn answered

"BREACH!" screamed the voice over the speaker, "We have a BREACH!"

Buffy raced back to the command room and saw a large group of Scottish zombies scaling the walls of the castle and battling slayers in the courtyard

"Oh my god," Buffy said when she saw the figure standing on the wall above them

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	4. Two Powerful Forces at Battle

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"Yeah, I know," Xander said, "I'm still trying to figure it out"

"We have to stop her fast," Buffy said, "Get the slayers out there, now!"

"All slayers, converge to the courtyard on the double and defend the castle now," Xander shouted into the microphone

Buffy turned to leave

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to stop her"

"Buffy, it's Amy. She's nearly as powerful as Willow. How are you going to fight her?"

"Do what I always do: try"

Buffy left the room and headed towards her bedroom, opening the cupboard in the corner and taking the weapon inside. With the Scythe in her hand, Buffy headed towards the courtyard, where she saw the Slayers battling against the zombies. The zombies were proving to be difficult, their strength and speed matching the slayers

Buffy ducked a zombie's sword and swung the Scythe, cleaving the zombie in half through the chest. She carried on the swing and embedded the stake into another zombie's chest. The zombie snarled and swung his sword. Buffy removed the stake and ducked under the blade, kicking the zombie back, before bringing the Scythe around and beheading the zombie

"Hold the line," she shouted, "Push them back. Don't let them through"

"Hello, Commander Buffy," Amy said, flying overhead, "Long time, no see"

"Long time, but no pleasure whatsoever," Buffy said

Amy chuckled

"What brings you out here?" Buffy asked

Amy landed amongst the zombies and raised her hands. The zombies stopped their fighting and stepped back, as the slayers did the same. Buffy quickly realized what was going on. It was going to be a fight between her and Amy in the circle of zombies and slayers

"I just wanted to say hi to one of my coolest friends from high school"

"Lovely. So, how have you been?" Buffy asked casually as the pair circled each other

"Not bad. Well, living in a crater is not all that great, but I survived at least"

"What a shame"

"So, this is what you're doing these days? Searching for all those slayers you've activated and training them, turning them into a massive army"

"Yeah, against the forces of darkness, which is what you've now slipped into"

"Yeah and yet, you didn't kill Willow when she was completely evil. How is Red going anyway?"

"That's none of your business"

"Oh"

Amy's right hand flashed green. Buffy reacted instinctively with a chop towards Amy's face, but the witch blocked the blade with her magic, before pushing forwards and kicking Buffy in the stomach. The blond Slayer swung her weapon up and struck Amy on the chin with the handle, before following on with a kick to the solar plexus and bringing the blade around towards her throat

Amy ducked under the blade and shot a magical projectile into Buffy's flank, throwing her onto her back. Buffy groaned and flipped onto her feet, blocking Amy's punch with the Scythe handle, before spinning around and bringing the Scythe overhead. Amy dodged the swing and swung her fist, but Buffy reacted faster, blocking the blow, then grabbing her arm and tripping her up. Amy quickly used her magic to hover back onto her feet, as Buffy swung the Scythe towards her back. Amy whirled around and stopped the attack, as her right fist glowed green and grew to twice its size. Amy smirked and punched Buffy in the face, throwing her back into the zombies. Amy then clicked her fingers and the zombies roared, before lunging forth. The slayers engaged them, as Buffy got to her feet and blocked Amy's next punch, but was struck by another of Amy's magic giant fist attack, throwing her through the air

"Damn, Buff, you're getting slow in your old age," Amy smirked

"Yeah, but I also got wiser"

Buffy whirled around and swung the Scythe. Amy stepped back to avoid the blade, as Buffy followed through and delivered a back kick to her chest. Amy hit the ground, as Buffy twirled the Scythe around and hooked the blade into a zombie's chest, before ripping upwards. Amy lunged and kicked Buffy in the face, before punching her with a giant fist again and capturing her in a green magic bubble. Buffy struggled to break out of it, but found she couldn't

"I guess all that time underground has paid off," Amy said as the bubble began to suffocate Buffy, "Nothing to do but to get stronger. A hundred slayers and there's no here who can take me on. Not enough you, Buffy"

A blue energy projectile struck Amy and the bubble disappeared from Buffy. She got to her feet, as Amy looked up to the sky

"As a friend of mine once said…I'd like to test that theory"

"Willow!" Buffy cried

"Hey, Buffy," Willow said, her eyes not leaving Amy

Amy growled and got to her feet

"You continue on here, Buff, I'll handle her"

"Yeah, sure, no worries," Buffy said as she cleaved a zombie in half down the middle

Amy began to float in the air and soared higher, as Willow followed after her. The night sky was filled with green and blue flashes of energy, as Willow and Amy used their powers against each other, blocking and countering each other's moves

"Man, this craft is _weak_," Amy said as she deflected an energy blast, "Didn't you almost destroy the world once?"

"I saw the big picture," Willow said, "Unlike you, Amy. You're just too self-involved"

"Ouch, Oprah"

Amy sent a green blast at Willow, but she absorbed it with her blue energy, before sending a green beam towards the zombies. The undead dropped their weapons and began asking the slayers for a dance

"Ladies and other ladies, the indestructible Rosenberg," Xander said to the slayers while watching from the screen

"The army was the pressing issue. Light show's a distraction," Willow said

"So's the army," Amy replied

She struck Willow with a blast of blue magic, which sent Willow tumbling through the air and disorienting her. Amy shot after her and began gathering her magic for another powerful attack, but Willow's eyes turned black, as her hands turned green. Amy shot the blast at her and missed, as Willow shot her magical blast. The blast struck Amy, throwing her back

"Ooh, good one. What else you got?"

"This one"

Willow was preparing another attack, as Amy smiled and began gathering her powers. Willow smiled, her eyes still black, as her body flashed and suddenly disappeared

"Huh?"

Amy seized up when she was trapped in a magical coffin. Willow's eyes returned to normal, as Amy began falling and struck the ground heavily. Willow floated down next to the coffin, as Buffy joined her

"Nice job," she said, "Good to have you back"

"Well, I thought I might be needed"

"Good. You won't mind helping Xander out here for a while?"

"Not at all. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to L.A. with Dawn for a couple of days"

"Oh. Okay then"

Buffy smiled, as she and the slayers headed into the castle to clean up. Willow looked at the comatose Amy, trapped in her coffin; thinking about what Buffy was going to do. Willow had sensed a dark presence growing in L.A. for the last week and in the last few days; the presence had exploded into dark power covering the whole of Los Angeles. Willow didn't know what the situation was with Angel and the gang, but she hoped they were okay

"Come on, Amy, let's get you inside"

Using her magic, Willow levitated the coffin and floated it into the castle

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	5. Bring Me Back a Witch

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Xander turned around when he heard the doors opened and nearly died of shock. Buffy had walked into the room with Dawn by her side, but also had Angel, a teenaged boy and Spike with her! He rubbed his only eye, making sure he wasn't seeing things, but Spike was alive! Alive as a vampire could be, but alive nonetheless

"I see you've brought your reinforcements," Xander said, "Hey guys"

"Harris," Spike said

"Xander, how you've been?" Angel asked

"Lost an eye, looking after fifty slayers, life's good. You?"

"Living in Hell"

"Oh, good times. Who's this?"

"This is my son, Connor," Angel said, "Connor, this is Xander"

"Hi," Connor said, shaking Xander's hand

"Son?" Xander said, looking at Buffy

She shrugged

"So, what's the go with Red?" Spike asked, "Got told she was kidnapped"

"Yeah, we captured a powerful witch named Amy," Xander explained, "Willow was about to interrogate her and got sucked into a portal with Amy. We have mystics working on it now, but the sooner the better"

"And we're going through to take out anyone in our way?" Angel said

"Well, Willow said that Amy's power has been technologically augmented, which means she's obviously working with someone. Someone powerful"

"Well, that's not good at all," Buffy said, "Have you contacted everyone else and told them to be wary of Amy?"

"Yeah. They're on the lookout for her"

"Good. How long have the mystics been working on the portal?"

"A few hours now. Shouldn't be any longer. You might want to get ready"

Buffy nodded and left, as the others followed her

"Rescue mission," Spike said, "I always love those"

"Dawn, can you take them to the weapons room please?" Buffy asked, "I'm gonna get ready"

Dawn nodded, as Buffy headed to her room. The vampires and Connor followed her to the weapons room and even Angel let out a small gasp when he saw the amount of weapons being kept

"Not bad, eh?" Dawn said

"Nice," Spike agreed, looking at a pair of scimitars

Angel grabbed a broadsword and swung it through the air a few times, as Connor grabbed a sword and an arm-mounted crossbow for himself

"You might want to take these as well," Dawn said, handing them a couple of flash bangs each

Spike saw that she had a sword strapped to her waist, as well as a few stakes

"What do these do?" Connor asked

"They emit a bright light which blinds people," Angel said

"Cool"

"Come on, we'll go to the basement," Dawn said

She left the room, as the trio followed her

"Damn, she's grown up a lot," Angel said to Spike

"And I noticed your boy's making eyes at my bit"

"No he's not"

"Denial. I can tell. He can't take his eyes off her. Hasn't ever since he met her"

"Whatever"

Angel, Spike, Dawn and Connor reached the basement, where Xander and Kennedy were, with a small group of slayers and a couple of mystics working on opening a portal. Buffy entered the basement and stood next to Xander, the Scythe strapped to her back as she fixed up her gloves

"How big is the portal going to be?" Buffy asked

"Big enough to get you through," Xander answered, "And with a portal that big, we're gonna be expecting some sort of resistance"

The portal opened up, as a whirring sound was heard from the other side. Xander stood back and smiled, as a large energy beam shot out of the portal and struck the large steel bowl he had set up earlier. The beam was ricocheted back into the portal, as an explosion was heard, following by yelling and screaming

"Alright, go," Xander said, "Bring me back a witch"

Buffy and Angel went into the portal first, followed by Dawn and Connor and finally Spike. They had arrived in a large military base, while soldiers were lying around nearby, injured from the blast caused by the machine that Xander had blown up

"Sound off! Who's hurt? Stay CALM DAMIT!" a voice shouted

"No. Panic," Buffy said

Any remaining soldiers that weren't injured all opened fire, as the group began fighting against any nearby soldiers, only injuring them enough to take them out, but not killing them. Shouting was heard throughout the base, as more soldiers raced out, only to be taken down. Once the soldiers had been dealt with, Buffy looked around for a commanding officer and found one lying on the ground, blood running from his mouth as he tried to crawl away. Buffy stood over him and stopped him

"We tried to be nice, but some of these men are dying. There's one person in this complex powerful enough to heal them. Tell me where she is or you're not gonna like the other option"

"We're up, what's the what?" Xander asked through the comlink

"Military installation," Angel answered, "Very big and flashy"

"What about Willow?"

"We're en route," Buffy answered as she rounded a corner and kicked a soldier down

"Be careful. Amy will be waiting"

"Don't worry, she won't be waiting for long," Buffy said

"Harris, where are we?" Spike asked

"GPS is coming up now," Xander answered, "Whoa, you won't believe it"

"Where are we?" Angel asked

"About two miles south of Sunnydale"

"You're kidding me," Spike cried, "But why doesn't that surprise me much?"

"Because you're a boring bastard," Angel replied

"Look who's talking?"

"Guys, keep the testosterone down to minimum please," Buffy said

A blue energy blast just missed Buffy's head, as she ducked back around the corner

"Come out, come out, come out and plaaayy," Amy said in a singsong voice

Spike peeked around the corner and sighed

"What is it?" Dawn asked

"Who liked the Thing?"

"Who?" Buffy asked

Spike sighed again

"Rock monster. Amy just created it"

"Right, you deal with the rock monster, I'll deal with Amy," Buffy said

"Yeah, whatever"

"Go"

Connor dived out from around the corner and shot a bolt at the monster, as Buffy dodged it and dived towards Amy, dodging the magical blast. Getting to her feet, Buffy kicked Amy in the stomach, making her stumble, but Amy sent her flying with a magical blast, as the rock monster threw Angel and Spike through the air. Buffy felt power surging through her and smiled, as her eyes turned black

"Thanks, Willow"

A green glow appeared around Buffy's hands. She blocked Amy's magic blast and decimated the monster with one punch, before shooting a blast at Amy

"Oh come on, you haven't got a particle of her strength"

A flash bang grenade landed at her feet and went off. Amy cried out, as Buffy charged, but she was gone. Buffy kicked the door open and cried out when she saw a creature made out of muscle and blood holding a scalpel. Amy appeared behind the creature and wrapped her arms around it

"Time to go, sweetie," she said, disappearing through a portal

"This isn't over, Slayer," the creature said

"Willow!" Buffy cried, seeing her friend on a table surrounded by instruments

"Something wrong?" Willow asked as she sat up

"What happened?"

"He was lobotomising me. I'm fine"

"Let's get you out of here"

Buffy turned around, as a gunshot went off and a bullet just missed her. Angel grabbed the offender and threw him against the wall. Buffy walked over and saw a symbol cut into his chest. The same symbol she found at the church

"What the?"

"Twilight is coming," the general answered, "For you and all of your freaks. You're not human. When you win, the world won't be the way you want it and the demon in you will say just one thing 'slay'"

"This isn't about demons, it's about women and power," Buffy growled

"You think it's only men who want to bring you down?" the general asked, "It's you against the world. You're at war with the human race"

"Oh," Buffy said, "Kay"

††††††††††


	6. A Mission in England

††††††††††

"How you feeling, Buff?"

Buffy looked up from the table at Xander's grinning face

"Tired"

"Maybe you should get some rest. Might help you know"

"I know. It's just, this whole deal with Amy"

"Yeah, good point. But that's not all, is it?"

Buffy gave him a short glare. And he had the nerve to keep smiling

"Come on, tell me"

"The Amy deal is a major part of it"

"And the other part is?"

Buffy hesitated

"Spike. Seeing him alive, or undead I should say, walking, talking and without a tan"

"Yeah, that one took me by surprise too. He burned up, though right?"

"Yeah, he did. Sacrificed himself. I don't know how he came back"

"Didn't you talk on the way back here?"

"No, it was mostly awkward silence all the way"

"Geez and it's got you down like this?"

"No. I mean, I've moved on already and then he shows up"

Xander paused for a moment

"You love him?"

"He's in my heart. But I've moved on and he's already moved on, I believe"

Xander nodded his agreement, understanding her

"I probably should go rest. I don't have to worry so much anymore"

Xander smiled and patted her shoulder

"That's my girl"

Buffy returned the smile and headed to her room to get some sleep, as Xander headed back to the command room. The screen flashed, displaying the words "incoming call". Xander pressed the call button, as Giles appeared on the screen

"Hey, G-man"

Giles frowned at the nickname, but ignored it

"Hello Xander, is Buffy there?"

"No, I just sent her to bed"

"Oh, it might be for the best then"

"What's on your mind?"

"I've got a couple of reports in England here of a rogue slayer"

"Like Faith?"

"Yes, like Faith was. And also the fact that one of our slayers have disappeared shortly before I got the report"

"Right, so what do you want us to do about it?"

"Well, actually, I was going to send Faith to check it out, but I can't get hold of her"

"Oh, Faith's in Los Angeles with Angel. She's been there for a few weeks now"

"Oh, that's quite a shame then"

"What will you do then?"

"I was thinking of sending Dawn in to investigate. After all, she is a young woman, highly capable and well-trained, I presume"

"Oh yeah, our Dawnie's all grown up now," Xander grinned, recalling a memory where Dawn had beaten him in a match

"And I do believe she is old enough to make her own decisions"

Xander chuckled

"Yeah, cause I don't think Buffy will like the idea of her little sister go chasing after a rogue slayer"

"Well, I will inform Buffy of the mission, but she isn't around and I need this sorted out right away"

"So, you want me to send Dawn to England and then tell Buffy?"

"I'll pay for the hospital bill"

"Thanks, G-man, but I think it will be more likely at the morgue"

"If you insist. Of course, this is if Dawn wishes to carry this out"

"I'll let her know and send her over to you"

"Thank you, Xander"

"Catch you round, Giles"

The screen went blank, as Xander let out a deep breath

"Something wrong, Xander?"

Xander turned around and looked at Willow. She had just arrived with Kennedy, who was now talking to a couple of slayers on the computers

"Giles wants to send Dawn on a mission involving a rogue slayer"

"But Buffy won't let her"

"It's Dawn's choice. She's not a child anymore. We'll let her decide"

"Okay, we'll talk to her"

Xander and Willow left the command room and headed down the hallway, past Buffy's closed room and into Dawn's room next door

"Hey, Dawnie," Willow smiled

"Hi, Will, hey Xander"

"Whatcha up to, Dawnie?" Xander asked

Dawn shrugged

"Not much, really"

"Cool, cause Giles just called. He wants to see you"

"He still on the screen?"

"Uh, no, he wants to see you in England"

"Huh?"

"Giles has a mission for you?" Willow explained

"Cool, what would I have to do?"

"We'll leave that for Giles to tell you, kay?" Xander said

"Is it dangerous?" Dawn asked

"Nah, not at all," Xander said, "Just something involving a rogue slayer"

"Buffy's not going to let me go"

"She let you go with her with rescue me," Willow reasoned, "And besides, she's asleep right now. She'll be fine"

"Really, alright I'm going then"

††††††††††

A few hours later, Dawn had arrived at the Watchers' Council where Giles resided, along with about fifty slayers and twenty watchers he had accumulated so far. She headed inside and went to the front counter

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked

"Yes, I'm here to see Rupert Giles. My name is Dawn Summers," Dawn answered

"One moment"

The receptionist picked up her phone and dialled a number, said a few words and hung up

"He'll be done in a minute"

"Okay"

Dawn looked around at the lobby, amazed by the size of it, as she looked at all the various paintings of past watchers and slayers

"Dawn, you made it"

Dawn whirled around and smiled at Giles, as he gave her a hug, before stepping back

"My, you have grown"

"Thank you. How have you been?"

"Fine thanks. How was the flight?"

"It was alright"

"Very well then. Shall we?" he asked, indicating to the stairs, "Leave your bags. I'll get someone to get them for you"

Dawn said her thanks, as she followed Giles up the stairs to his office

††††††††††

Back in Scotland, Buffy woke up and got out of bed, before leaving her room and heading to Dawn's, but her sister wasn't there. Frowning, Buffy headed to the command room, where Xander, Kennedy and Willow were. Xander was talking to Andrew, warning him about Amy and to keep an eye out for her. Andrew promised he would and the screen went blank, as Xander turned around and saw Buffy

"Where's Dawn?"

"Isn't she in her room?" Willow asked

"No"

"She might be training with the other slayers"

Buffy looked at Kennedy, who looked like she was trying to remember something

"Aren't the slayers out on missions?" she asked

Buffy looked at Xander, then Willow and then Xander again

"What is going on?"

"Um, Buffy, don't get angry. You have to remember that Dawn is a big girl now and can make her own decisions, okay?"

"Where is Dawn?" Buffy asked in her deadly voice

"Oh crap," Xander gulped, before smiling at her, "She's not here"

"Where is she?"

"England"

††††††††††


	7. Soldiers in the Sewers: Gear Up

††††††††††

Snarling echoed around in the sewers. Robin was leading his Slayers, silent and at the ready with their crossbows or harpoon guns, whilst wearing protective and flexible outfits, similar to what Xander wore, playing their flashlights over the tunnel

They were chasing after a demon that devoured humans and made a secretion similar to spider silk. It had been rampaging for a week now, evading the traps Robin had set for it. On this hunt, the Slayers had cornered the Spider Demon, but it had escaped into the sewers. Robin made sure they were careful, as the demon would move around on walls and ceilings easily, as well as hiding in darkness perfectly

Gunshots rang out somewhere in the sewers. Robin motioned to the slayers and they spread out when they came to an intersection, moving towards the shooting. They came out into an open area, where a group of military were shooting upon the spider demon. It screeched and shot webs at them, but the soldiers were able to shoot it down, killing it, as Robin stepped out

"What's going on here?"

"Slayers," one of the soldiers said, spying a couple of them

"Oh damn," Robin said as he realized what was happening

The soldiers began shooting upon them, as the slayers took cover and returned fire, aiming to only injure the soldiers. One soldier cried out as a bolt went through his thigh and he dropped, while a slayer yelled when a bullet passed through her shoulder

"Natalie, get us out of here"

Natalie threw a couple of smoke grenades, covering the soldiers as the slayers made their escape. Robin took in a deep breath, before straightening

"At least we don't have to worry about the demon anymore"

"Yeah, because we've got the army to worry about instead"

"True. Head back to base and stay out of sight from any military you see"

"Got it"

††††††††††

Giles picked up the ringing phone on the third ring

"Hello?"

"Hi, Giles"

"Hello, Buffy. I was wondering when you would call"

"Damn right you would. What is Dawn doing there?"

"Don't worry, I am training her"

"You're sending her to face a slayer. A slayer, Giles. Dawn will die"

"If we do this right, Dawn won't have to worry about much at all"

"And you're training her to kill someone"

"Buffy, I understand your concern, but this slayer is highly dangerous"

"Exactly. I should be there"

"You have enough to worry about with Amy and the military. I'm giving Dawn a chance to become her own person. Do you understand?"

"No, I don't"

Giles chuckled

"Buffy, you have my word that she will not come to any harm"

"She better not"

"Okay then. Is that all?"

"For now"

"Okay, goodbye Buffy"

"Bye"

Giles hung up, as he turned back to Dawn. She was wearing a sparkling blue dress and had her hair done up in curls and a small beehive. Giles smiled at her

"I feel overdressed," Dawn complained

"You look good," Giles told her, "And you'll be fine"

"A ball, Giles. I've never been to a ball"

"Well, hopefully with all that I've taught you, Genevieve will never suspect a thing"

"Good, because I want this to go right. But Giles, me killing a human"

"Genevieve is dangerous. She's already killed another slayer. We'd confirmed this and decided that she must be taken out to protect everyone else"

"Okay, if it's for the greater good"

Giles walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders

"You will be fine. We'll have people watching over you in case something goes wrong, okay?"

"Okay," Dawn agreed

"Good. Now go, the coach is waiting"

Dawn smiled and left the office, as Giles sat down at his desk and took a sip of his whiskey. He hoped she would be fine, for Buffy's sake at least

††††††††††

"We came across a few soldiers tonight," Robin reported, "But nothing serious happened really, apart from them firing upon us and them killing the demon we were hunting"

"Sounds like the boys are getting serious now," Xander said, "Be careful, okay?"

"No worries. Over and out"

The screen went blank, as Xander sighed

"Everything okay, Xander?" Willow asked

"Still no trance of Amy and the military are spreading out. A group of them were just in Cleveland"

"What has Andrew told us?"

"No word of Amy and no sign of the military yet, but he's watching out for them"

"Anything from Dawn?"

"I just got off the phone from Giles," Buffy said, coming into the room, "Dawn's fine, according to him, but I don't agree with him sending her after a slayer"

"Don't worry, Buff, Dawn will be fine," Willow said, "It was her own choice. She wanted to go and help Giles"

"I know. But it's a slayer that Dawnie's facing"

"And she's faced worse," Xander reasoned, "She will be fine"

"Okay, I'm fine. Just remind me to kill Giles when it's all over"

"Done then," Xander grinned

"Anything on Amy?" Buffy asked

"Nothing," Willow answered, "And I can't track her with my powers. She's cloaked herself, making it difficult to find her"

The screen flickered to life, as Andrew appeared

"Hey, guys"

"Hi, Andrew," Xander said, "Got anything for us?"

"Yeah. We've found Amy"

"You have?" Buffy cried, incredulous

"She's here in Sicily. A couple of slayers saw her while on a mission. They also followed her for a bit, but lost her. However, we do have a map of the area where she was seen in"

"How do you know if it was Amy?" Buffy asked

"We took a photo and matched it with the photo you sent us," Andrew said with a big smile, proud of himself

"That's very good, Andy," Xander said, "Keep searching for her, okay?"

"Okay-dokey"

The screen went black, as Xander turned to Buffy and Willow

"Some good news at last. You two want to head over to Sicily?"

"Yeah, okay then," Buffy said

"Maybe if I'm closer, I can pinpoint where she is," Willow suggested

"Excellent. I'll send you two over. Buffy, gear up"

"Yes sir," Buffy said mockingly, as she and Willow left the room

††††††††††


	8. Welcome to Italy

††††††††††

"Welcome to Italy," Andrew cried

"Hi Andrew," Buffy said, "How are you?"

"I'm good. We're all good"

Then he spoke a greeting in Italian to Willow, who gave Buffy a confused look

"I think he said hello"

"Come in, come in"

Buffy and Willow followed Andrew into his castle and to the command room, looking similar to the one back in Scotland

"Welcome to the command room," Andrew said

A video was playing on one of the screens, showing a ball taking place

"You watch ballroom dancing?" Buffy asked

"Uh, oh no, that's Dawn in England. Giles has asked that I keep watch as well, so I sent a slayer over with a camera. I think he's getting Xander to do the same thing"

Buffy watched the screen and smiling slightly when she saw that Dawn looked beautiful and was dancing very well. Giles had taught her well

"Buffy, should we head over to Sicily now?" Willow asked

"Ah yes, Sicily. Where the notorious Amy Madison currently resides. A dangerous foe, one who must be tread around carefully," Andrew said

"Okay, let's get going," Buffy said, "Andrew, can you teleport us there?"

"I sure can. Jodie, get the teleporter fired up please"

The slayer nodded and set to work, as Buffy continued to watch the screen. She saw the rogue slayer sitting at the table, watching the dancers, a small smile on her face

"Teleporter is ready to go," Andrew announced

"See you round, Andy," Buffy said

She stepped through the teleporter, followed by Willow and they ended up in Sicily

"Think you can find her now?" Buffy asked

Willow closed her eyes and began searching for Amy's magic signature

"I've found her and I've got a lock onto her"

"Lead the way"

††††††††††

"How is Dawn doing?" Giles asked

"Ah, she's doing fine," Xander answered, "Blending in well"

"Well, just in case something goes wrong, I have someone I can call"

"Really? Who?"

"Never you mind"

"Well, I've sent Kennedy over to England to help keep watch, seeing as Willow's gone to Italy with Buffy"

"What are they doing there?"

"Searching for Amy. She was last seen there"

"What's happening here?"

Xander focused on the screen. The dance had ended and Genevieve had gotten up from the table, before heading out onto the dance floor and towards Dawn

"Don't tell me we've been found," Giles said

"Yeah, cause Buffy would never forgive you for that. Kennedy, what's the go?"

"Genevieve is just talking to Dawn. There are no guards, so I think we're good still"

"That's what I want to hear," Xander said

"Now they're walking away together?" Kennedy said

"Huh?"

The dancers got ready for the next song, as Genevieve and Dawn left the floor and headed out through a back door

"Where are they going?" Giles asked

"I'll follow her?" Kennedy said

"Yeah, go and be careful, okay Kennedy?" Xander said

††††††††††

Dawn was wary of Genevieve. After all, she had come straight to her after the dance and said she wanted to her somewhere or something. Dawn hoped she hadn't been found out, since she knew she had three slayers watching over her

"In here," Genevieve said

Dawn stepped into the room and looked around. She was in the slayer's bedroom and it looked spectacular. It was bigger than the command room in Scotland and had a huge bed up against the wall

"So, Hope, you're a slayer, aren't you?"

Dawn froze, but she quickly recovered

"A slayer? Yeah, of course I am," she said in a snotty tone

"So, why would you want to come here?"

"Heard about you. Wanted to see what you had to offer"

Genevieve raised an eyebrow

"You want to work for me?"

"Only if that's okay with you, of course"

Genevieve bit her lower lip

"Depends on how well you can work for me"

"Do you have something for me already?"

Genevieve chuckled

"I'm having a little trouble with someone. She needs to be taken out and when she's gone, I can slip into the power vacuum and take over"

"Oh, really. Sounds cool"

"It will be," Genevieve agreed, her eyes alit with excitement, "The power that I will hold will be amazing"

"So, who is this person?"

"The Queen"

"You want to kill the Queen of England?"

Genevieve chuckled and headed to her wardrobe and opened it. There were a lot of photos tacked to the inside of one door and Dawn could see it was all of the same person. Then she realized who it was

"Not Elizabeth, Hope, not her"

The photos were of Buffy

††††††††††


	9. A Saviour: In Sicily

††††††††††

"Are you Giles?"

Giles jumped and turned around to see a teenaged boy standing behind him

"You must be Connor, right?"

"Yeah"

"Oh good. I was wondering when you would show"

Connor looked at the screen, seeing a ball in progress. He searched for Dawn, but couldn't find her

"Is that where Dawn is right now?"

"Yes. We lost contact with her a few hours ago. She told me to call you for help in case something went wrong"

"She did?" Connor asked, surprise clearly in his voice

"Now, what we're gonna do is send you in," Giles said, "Search for Dawn, since you would have better tracking skills than the slayers, I presume"

"Yeah"

"Good. Search for Dawn and try to get her out of the mansion. She is with a rogue slayer named Lady Genevieve Savidge"

"How bad is she?"

"She intends to kill Buffy and take over the slayer hierarchy. And she's already killed a slayer"

"She's evil. Alright, let's go"

††††††††††

"She's in there," Willow said

"In there?" Buffy said, "In that run-down, crappy motel?"

The sign on the front of motel said that it had closed down over twenty years ago, needing repairs and obviously not getting them

"Be careful, she has put up some shields," Willow warned, "Of the not nice kind"

"Well, that would make things very interesting then"

Buffy and Willow entered the motel, as a green glow appeared around Willow. Blue magic began appearing on the walls, floor and ceiling. They began to evaporate, disappearing altogether as well as Willow's glow

"Wow," Buffy said, "What did you just do?"

"Remove all the shields and guards. However…"

Willow didn't get to finish, as a large demon came crashing through the ceiling, looking like a cross between a gorilla and a tiger. It had a tiger-like face with long fangs and thick gorilla-like arms and fur

"Nice…kitty?" Buffy said, "Uh, Willow, what did you do?"

"I removed the shields that would have alerted Amy to our presence," Willow answered, "However, doing that must have alerted her as well. Any ideas?"

"Run?"

The demon lunged, baring its fangs, as Willow put up a shield, rebounding the demon, before joining Buffy as they headed up a flight of stairs and onto the second floor. A green energy bolt just missed Buffy's head, as Amy started charging up another blast

"I was wondering how long it would take you to show up"

"How's it going?" Buffy asked

"Fine. Don't know about the kitty. He was fine until you woke him up. Bad idea"

As if on cue, the demon smashed through the floor and climbed its way up until it was facing Buffy and Willow. Buffy grabbed the Scythe and held it ready

"You get the witch, I'll get the monkey cat"

Willow nodded and directed a magical blast at Amy, as Buffy dodged the demon's arm and swung the Scythe upwards

††††††††††

"You intend to kill Buffy?" Dawn asked

"Yes. She's keeping us in the shadows, forcing us to protect the weak mankind. But we are superior. We should be taking over," Genevieve said

"Uh-huh. Sounds cool"

"It all sounds simple," Genevieve continued as if she didn't hear anything, "But the practical part won't be"

"So, how did you know I was a slayer?"

"I could tell by the way you were moving. Graceful and swift, like a fighter. And you also had the slayer look in your eyes, like you were on the ready"

Dawn smiled inwards. Giles had taught her well in the few days she had. But also, she was afraid. Afraid of Genevieve, afraid for Buffy and for what was about to come

The door burst open and Kennedy stepped into the room. Dawn was shocked to see the slayer, as was Genevieve

"Another slayer?" Genevieve said, glancing at Dawn, "Is this your friend?"

"Uh, no, I've never seen her before," Dawn stammered

"So, I'm guessing you're Lady Savidge," Kennedy said, fingering her knife handle

"You're here to kill me?" Genevieve asked, stepping sideways to circle Kennedy

"That was the idea"

"Hope, come here. Together, we can take this slayer. Two on one"

Kennedy smirked, as Dawn stood across from her. Genevieve rushed Kennedy and struck her in the face with a kick, making her stumble. Kennedy whirled around and lashed out, but Genevieve blocked her arm and pushed her back. Kennedy used the momentum to swing around with a kick and knock her down

"Hope, help me"

Dawn walked over and stood next to Kennedy

"Sorry, but my name's not Hope. It's Dawn"

Kennedy drew her knife, but Genevieve kicked her leg out, before grabbing the knife from her hand and plunging it into her stomach. Kennedy cried out, as Genevieve removed the knife and turned towards Dawn

"You're not a slayer, are you?"

Dawn gave her a smile, while shaking on the inside

"Fooled you"

Genevieve growled and raised the knife, as someone burst into the room

"Connor?" Dawn cried

Genevieve turned around, as Connor's fist connected with her face, throwing her away from Dawn

"Are you okay?" Connor asked

"Am now," Dawn smiled

Connor gave her a small one in return, before kneeling next to Kennedy

"Let's get her out of her"

He helped Kennedy to her feet and went to leave with Dawn, but Genevieve got up and rushed at them. Connor let go of Kennedy, grabbed Genevieve's knife arm, twisted it around and plunged the knife into her chest, just below the rib cage. Genevieve gasped and dropped, as Connor removed the knife

"Now let's get the hell out of here"

††††††††††


	10. The Interrogation

††††††††††

"Mission accomplished?" Xander asked

"Yeah, we got it done," Kennedy answered, "Thanks to some guy named Connor"

"He's Angel son and he was here before," said Dawn, "He helped us get Willow back"

"I thought he looked familiar"

"Where's Buffy?" Dawn asked

"She's chasing down Amy in Italy," Xander answered, "I don't know how long she'll be"

BOOMF!

Buffy, Willow and a skinless human appeared in the middle of the room in a cloud of smoke. The human struggled against his bonds, as Buffy motioned for a couple of slayers

"Take him down to the basement and watch him"

The slayers nodded and took the human away, as Xander and Dawn came over

"What was that?"

"That is Warren"

"Warren? You're kidding me? I thought Willow, uh, killed him"

"Same here," Willow said with a hint of regret, "But Amy somehow saved his life and has been keeping him alive"

"Speaking of Amy, what happened with her?"

"She got away," Willow answered, "But we've got Warren luckily"

"Let's head on down and find out what he knows," Xander suggested

He, Buffy, Kennedy, Dawn and Willow headed down to the basement, as the slayers finished tying Warren up and had made sure he was secured tight

"Hey faceless," Xander said, "Whatcha know?"

"Xander, no more fun and games now?" Warren said

"At least I've still got my skin"

"Yeah, well, no thanks to her"

Buffy slammed her fist into Warren's face, making him recoil

"Just push me right now, Warren, just do it, I beg you. You will regret it"

"Tell us what you know," Kennedy demanded

"Now why would I want to do that?" Warren smirked

"First off, you won't look any less pretty than you already are," Xander said

"Gonna torture me? I thought you don't torture humans"

"Who said you were a human?" Dawn asked

"I am a human"

"I think were is the correct term here," Xander said, "But we're not gonna torture him, are we? Torture seems so…Angel"

Buffy and Willow gave him a look

"Sorry"

"Okay, Warren, tell us what you know," Kennedy said, "What is this general planning to do? What has Amy got to do with it all? What is Amy planning?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Where's Spike when you need him?" Dawn said

"Spike? The vampire? He's dead, isn't he? I heard he died"

"You heard…somewhat correctly," Buffy said, "But he's alive…as a vampire can be"

"Oh, what a shame, huh?"

Kennedy drew her knife and pointed it as Warren's throat

"Tell us what you know"

"Kennedy, calm down a bit, okay sweetie?" Willow asked

Kennedy reluctantly put her knife away and stepped back

"What I can't get is why the hell did Amy keep you alive?" Buffy asked

"Guess I'm useful. With my knowledge of technology and her spells, we can be unstoppable"

"And yet, here you are as our prisoner," Xander pointed out

"You know she will come for me and it won't be nice when she comes," Warren said, "You'll be wishing you never messed with us"

"I never get tired of hearing that," Buffy said, "Tell us another one. One that does make us shake and quiver"

"The apocalypse is coming"

"What apocalypse?" Kennedy asked

"Amy is gonna bring around the apocalypse. The one that will destroy the slayer line completely. And we'll do a better job than the First"

"We know that will never happen," Dawn said, "It's just you two and a small army against over a thousand slayers. Good luck"

"Oh we'll make it happen," Warren sneered, "You haven't seen anything yet"

"I'm just dying to find out," Buffy said, "What are you gonna do this time? Dress up in your birthday suit and prance around talking about being high and mighty"

"That's not a bad idea," Warren said after a while

"I give up. We're not getting anywhere," Buffy said

"Maybe you should hit him," Dawn suggested, "Like what we used to do with Andrew"

"Andrew? How is the little ponce going? And what about Sparky?" Warren asked

"Jonathan's dead and Andrew is the leader of about fifty slayers," Xander answered

"Wow, that sounds…interesting"

"Is there anything else you want to tell us about the apocalypse?" Willow asked

She walked up to Warren and held her hand up, as green light flickered among her fingers

"You know I'm not scared of you anymore"

"Are you sure about that?"

Willow's turned black, as the magic around her fingers intensified. Warren didn't answer, as Willow's eyes turned back to normal

"I didn't think so"

BOOOM!! CRUNCH!!

"What was that?" Buffy said

"If I'm not mistaken and I shouldn't be, that was a tank," Xander answered

"A tank? How the hell did a tank get here?"

Warren started laughing

"She's here and you're so in for it now"

Dawn, Buffy, Willow, Kennedy and Xander headed upstairs and into the command room, where they could see Amy floating in the air above a group of soldiers moving towards the castle with several tanks and a couple of jets flying overhead

"Oh this cannot be good"

"Slayers on the outpost, return fire!" Xander commanded into the speaker

They watched as several catapults were fired, throwing large balls covered in tar and fire. The balls slammed into the army, quickly setting them alight, but Amy raised her hands, as dark clouds floated overhead and started casting down rain, dousing the flames, as the jets fired down a couple of missiles each

"Hold on," Xander said

The missiles slammed into the castle wall, ripping away chunks, as the army advanced and began attacking the front gate

"Slayers, down to the courtyard and get ready," Xander said

"Willow, Kennedy, let's get going," Buffy said

"Good luck," Xander said

"Always do. Come on"

††††††††††


	11. Someone isn't Happy

**Just something I should have done on chapter 1: disclaimer. None of this stuff is mine. All Joss Whedon's. Well, the stuff that came out of the comics and tv show**

††††††††††

"You boys never give up, do you?" Buffy asked

She cracked a soldier in the face with handle of the Scythe, before whirling around and striking another soldier in the head. Willow was flying above the battle, countering Amy's magical blasts with her own, as Kennedy, Leah, Satsu and Rowena were fighting nearby Buffy. The jets roared down and fired another couple of missiles, but they bounced off a force field that had been created by Willow. The tanks fired a couple of shells, but the result was the same

"Don't worry, boys, it'll be over soon," said Amy

She began chanting, as the force field began to shimmer. The force field collapse, as the jets came in for another attack. A harpoon was shot out from one of the walls and struck the wing of a jet, causing it to spill from the air and come in for a landing. Willow shot a magical blast at Amy, striking her in the chest and throwing her through the air. Amy laughed as she returned fire with several blasts, making Willow tumble in the air

"This is too fun," Amy laughed

Buffy grabbed a grenade from a fallen soldier and pulled the pin. She waited a few seconds, before lobbying it at Amy with her slayer strength. Amy didn't see the grenade until the last minute, as it went off next to her

BOOOM!!

Amy suddenly appeared on the ground, a few rips in her shirt and blood trailing down her arms and face

"That was a close one, Buff"

Willow came down and struck Amy with a magical blast, throwing her towards the tanks. Amy got to her feet, as Buffy ducked under a soldier's fist and winded him with the Scythe, before sweeping his legs out from underneath him. Amy raised her hands, as parts of the castle wall began to slide out of place. Amy smirked and flew into the air towards the castle

"Willow, after her," Buffy said

Willow nodded and flew off after her, as Amy landed inside the castle and looked around

TWANG!

The bolt just missed her, as she faced Xander. He was calmly reloading his crossbow, but Amy used her magic to rip it from his hands

"Tell me where Warren is and I promise not to flay you much"

"That's a shame you won't be able to do it," Xander said

"Watch me"

"Watch her"

Amy turned to the opening in the wall, as Willow came flying in and struck her with a blast which sent her flying through the wall into the slayers' bedroom

"Ouch. One for Willow, nil for Amy," Xander said

Willow tossed him his crossbow and he quickly finished reloading it

"Get to Warren"

A blue magical blast came flying out of the bedroom and slammed into Willow, throwing her out of the castle, as Amy flew out of the bedroom and followed her. Xander ran towards the basement, joined by Dawn who also had a crossbow

"Where are we going?" Dawn asked

"Gotta get Warren away from here somehow," Xander answered, "Amy's after him and she wants him real bad"

"Okay"

Xander and Dawn reached the basement, as the guards looked up

"What's going on?"

"Amy's here," Xander answered

"Told you she'd come for me," Warren crowed

"Shut up and you may get out of here in one piece," Xander said, aiming his crossbow

"You wouldn't shoot me. You're too good for something like that"

"Oh yeah?"

Warren cried out when the bolt sank into his right shoulder easily

"Right now, I couldn't really care less"

"You know Amy will kill you for that?"

"I can really see that happening"

"Why, because of Buffy and Willow? You need them to watch over you, because you're too weak to fend for yourself. You're nothing without them"

"You want me to shoot me?" Dawn asked

"No"

Xander walked over to Warren, ripped the bolt out of his shoulder and reloaded his crossbow, before aiming at his leg

"Just like you need Amy? Amy's the only reason you're still alive, meat boy. Without her, you'd be dead, thanks to Willow. And I don't really blame her for what she did to you. Okay, a little gross at first, but really Warren, you deserved it"

Amy suddenly appeared in the middle of the basement. With a sweep of her arm, she sent Xander and Dawn flying through the air, before slamming the two slayers against the wall with magic. Warren smiled at her

"My warrior queen appears"

"You know I can't stay too long away from you"

"True, baby"

"Give mama some sugar"

Xander sat up, just in time to see Amy and Warren share a kiss

"Oh man that is sick!"

Amy waved her hand over Warren, removing the bonds holding him

"You should see what else he can do," Amy smirked

"I don't even want to think about it"

"Bye now"

Amy and Warren disappeared, as the slayers dropped off the wall and Xander helped Dawn to her feet

"Is it over?"

Xander shrugged, as he headed upstairs to the command room. He checked the screens and saw that the army was retreating. Several minutes passed before Buffy, Willow and Kennedy burst into the room

"They're gone," Buffy said

"Yeah, and they've got Warren," Dawn said, "And we didn't get much out of him"

"Wood," Xander cried

"Yes?" Robin asked, appearing on screen

"Be on the watch out for Amy. She's been moving around with the army. And remember, she is very dangerous"

"Will do"

Robin's image disappeared, as a new one appeared

"Andrew, I want you and your slayers to keep an extra eye out for Amy," Xander said, "She has been there in Italy once before, so who knows if she'll be there again"

"Okay, you've got it," Andrew said, before his image faded

"Before she left, Amy said something about being somewhere else," Willow said, "Someone to do with a scorpion or whatever. In some big city"

"Anything else?" Buffy asked

"This"

Willow showed them a small knife in an elegant sheath, which had gold printed dragons up and down it. Buffy took the knife and unsheathed it

"Looks like a small samurai sword"

"Japan," Xander said, "That's where Amy is heading: Japan"

††††††††††


	12. Travelling to Tokyo

††††††††††

"But where about in Japan are we gonna find her?" Buffy asked

"It won't be easy," Willow said, "I won't be able to track her unless she's close"

"And there's no way we're travelling through every city in Japan," Xander said

"So, go to Tokyo," Dawn suggested

"Why?" Buffy asked

"It's the capital of Japan, right? Amy would definitely go to a big capital city like Tokyo. I hope"

"Why didn't I think of that?" Xander asked

"Want me to answer that?" Buffy asked him

"No"

"So you think that Amy could be in Tokyo?" Buffy asked Dawn

"I'm just guessing"

"What if we show the dagger to Giles?" Willow asked, "He could tell us"

"Okay, let's go then," Xander said

He headed towards the screen and began punching a series of buttons, as the screen flickered to life and Giles appeared on the screen

"Hey, Giles," Xander greeted

"Xander, what could I do for you?"

"This"

Willow showed him the dagger and the sheath. Giles adjusted his glasses, before disappearing off screen

"Well, that was helpful," Willow said

Giles reappeared, holding a large thick book opened to the middle

"Find anything?" Xander asked

"The dagger appears to be of Japanese origin"

"Yeah, we figured that. Seen enough samurai movies to know"

"Maybe from the Order of the Gold Dragon"

"That hasn't told us much"

"Who are rivals to the Sect of the Black Scorpion, an assassination cult, originally from Tokyo, Japan," Giles finished

"Which tells us Amy is in Japan," Xander said, "No doubt she would try and be friends with the Black Scorpion"

"As if she doesn't have enough friends as it is," Buffy said

"Giles, what can you tell us about the Black Scorpion?" Willow asked

"They're first and foremost an assassination cult"

"What about second most?"

"Nothing that I know of"

"Okay, thanks Giles. Keep an eye out for Amy if she leaves Japan," Buffy said

"Will do. Good luck"

The screen went blank

"Tokyo it is?" Xander asked, "Cause that would be cool. I need a break"

"Yeah, I think we all do," Dawn agreed

"We'll take some slayers with us," Buffy said

"All work and no play," Willow grumbled

"No, it'll be work, work and lots of playtime"

"Really?" Dawn asked

"Maybe. But let's get going"

"I'll get Kennedy," Willow said

"And I'll get the slayers," Xander said

They left the command room, as Buffy went to her room and began packing a few things into her bag. Once she was done, she went to her cupboard and grabbed the Scythe, before placing it inside her bag. She zipped it up and joined her sister outside

"So, Japan, huh?"

"Yeah"

"Anyone know Japanese?"

"No"

They entered the command room, where Xander, Willow and Kennedy were waiting, alongside Leah, Rowena and Satsu

"So, we're ready to go?" Buffy asked

"Ready and waiting, captain," Xander smiled

"Let's get going then"

The group left the room and headed out to the tarmac where their private jet was waiting, all fuelled up and ready to go. They all piled onto the jet and put their bags away, as the pilot joined them

"Ready?" she asked

"To Tokyo," Buffy said

The pilot nodded and got into the cockpit. Twenty minutes later, they were in the air and flying towards Japan

"Wow," Dawn said as they flew over Russia, "Check it out"

"The ocean is better," Buffy said

"So, what's in Japan?" Rowena asked

"Amy," Willow answered, "Alongside a few new friends"

"Are they anything like the military?" Kennedy asked

"No, possibly more dangerous"

"I think assassins can be classified as more dangerous than military," Buffy said

"Assassins?" Leah said, "Now you tell us"

"If we told you, would you have come?" Xander asked

"Yeah, we would have, but assassins?"

"Oh, right"

"I've never fought an assassin before. Wonder what it would be like?" Buffy said

"Well, when we get to Japan, you can find out," Dawn said

"Yeah, I suppose I will"

The plane made one stop to refuel, before continuing the flight to Japan. The flight was quiet and boring, although the passengers did try to occupy themselves with various games, all giving up when it got boring again. Then finally, several hours later, the jet arrived at the airport in Tokyo, Japan

"About time," Buffy said as she got off

"Oh man, that feels better," Kennedy said as she stretched her legs

"Come on, let's get going," Xander said, "Gotta get to our hotel"

"We have a hotel?" Dawn cried, "Alright, let's go. What kind of hotel?"

"One of the five-star kind"

"No way! Let's go, guys"

"We're coming," Buffy said, "Just as soon as we finish getting rid of jet-lag"

"Do that later. We've got a hotel to get to. Let's go"

††††††††††


	13. A Surprise Visitor

††††††††††

Buffy yawned and headed to her room, ready for bed. She closed her bedroom door and laid down, Scythe lying nearby

"Hi"

Buffy grabbed the Scythe and whirled around, but relaxed when she saw Angel sitting outside the window. Then a puzzled look overcame her

"Angel?"

"In the flesh"

"What are you doing here? Especially in Tokyo? Are you chasing Amy as well?"

"Amy? No. I'm here for something else. Ever heard of the Sect of the Black Scorpion?"

"Yes. Amy left behind a little souvenir when she last visited and it led us here"

"Ah, well, we're fighting against the Black Scorpion. They're trying to kill us so they can bring about an apocalypse"

"Amy wants to do the same thing. Maybe that's why they're hanging out together"

"Okay, so now I know they're in league with her"

"So, who else is here with you?"

"The whole gang. Me, Faith, Spike, Oz, Illyria, Connor and Gwen. Who do you have here with you?"

"Xander, Dawn, Willow, Kennedy and a few slayers"

"And you're gonna take on Amy with just that"

"Well, you're here to take on the Scorpion guys. You can handle them while we take on Amy. It all works out good"

"Uh-huh. We don't even know where these guys are"

"Well, Willow can track Amy by her astral signature"

"Amy might not be with the Sect. It would be a loose alliance"

"Splainy?"

"They both want to bring about an apocalypse, right. Amy will use her magic to help them, while they hand her some allies. Not much of an alliance, but it's enough"

"Great, so Amy's gonna have some more friends?"

"Buffy, who are you talking to?" came Dawn's voice

"Let her come in," Angel said, seeing Buffy's look

"Come in, Dawn"

Dawn came into the room and smiled when she saw Angel

"Angel, you're here. In Tokyo. How cool"

She walked over and gave him a hug from inside the window

"Come in"

Angel stepped through the window and into the room

"Is Spike here?" Dawn asked

"Uh, yeah, he's here, but not here"

"What about Connor?"

"Same for him. They're all in a hotel across the city"

"Oh cool. Buffy, we should go visit them"

"Oh, I don't know," Buffy said, "We're all so busy"

"Yeah, I'll have to agree with you on that," Angel said

"Oh"

Dawn's face fell

"Maybe when this is all over," Angel suggested

"Okay"

"So, let me know if you find anything about the Sect, okay?" Angel told Buffy

"Okay then. Keep an eye out for Amy and be careful"

"Why? That would just be boring"

"Angel"

He smiled and jumped out the window. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned to Dawn

"Come on, let's go to bed. We have a big day ahead of us"

††††††††††

"So Angel and gang are here in Tokyo?" Willow asked the next evening

"Yeah. They're chasing after the Black Scorpion, which leaves just Amy to us," Buffy said

"Which we know isn't gonna easy at all," Xander said

"Where do we start?" Kennedy asked

"Willow?" Buffy asked

"I'll try to get a lock on her astral signature," Willow replied, "But it won't be easy. We found her like that last time and this time around, she'll be better prepared"

"Best if we split up and search that way," Xander suggested, "Tokyo is a huge city, but if we split up, we can find her easier. Cover a fair bit more ground"

"Yeah, that probably sounds better," Buffy agreed, "Okay, Kennedy, you're with Willow and Xander. Dawn, you're with me and you three are together on your own," she said, indicating to Leah, Rowena and Satsu

"What do we do if we come across her?" Leah asked

"Try not to engage her if you can help it. Call us up and let us know," Buffy answered

"Call you up how?"

"With these obviously," Xander answered, handing them a video comlink each, "Just because we're in a different place doesn't mean we don't do it how we normally do"

"Oh right"

"Slayers, let's get suited up"

Twenty minutes later, the Slayers had all suited up, while Buffy had strapped the Scythe to her back and turned her comlink on, testing it

"Ready to go?" she asked

"With the pee of fear running down my leg," Xander said

Buffy raised an eyebrow

"I thought it was funny," Xander muttered

"Okay, let's get going and be careful"

"Like we won't?" Kennedy said, "Come on, we're always careful"

"I'm not gonna say anything about that," Willow said

"Huh?"

She and Willow left the room, followed by the trio of Slayers

"Better hurry up Xander," Dawn said, "Don't want to be lagging behind. Your masculinity will be put into question"

"I need more male friends," Xander muttered as he left the room

"Come on, let's go," Buffy said

Dawn nodded her agreement and together, they left the room

††††††††††


	14. An Old Friend from School

††††††††††

"Reckon we'll find her?" Dawn asked

"Don't know. It'll be tricky, especially in a place like this," Buffy answered

"Is it true what Amy was talking about? Bringing about an apocalypse?"

"Could be. She might be able to pull it off"

"But what apocalypse does she want to bring around? Collapsing of dimensions? Destroy the world? Overrun Earth with demonic creatures?"

"Guess we'll find out when it happens. Not that I'm gonna let it happen"

"I know"

They walked along the street together in silence for a few minutes, until Buffy suddenly stopped

"You hear that?"

"What?"

"Sounds like its coming from this way"

Buffy ran along the street until she came across an alley and ducked into it with Dawn trailing behind her. She caught up with Buffy and saw the scene that was unfolding before them: a young man was battling against a group of vampires, killing them with a katana

"Should we help?" Dawn asked

The man kicked a vampire in the chest, as another one grabbed him from behind

"Yes. Hey, over here"

Two vampires turned around and snarled, before running towards the sisters. Buffy dodged a jumping kick and staked hers through the back, as Dawn ducked a punch and rose up swiftly to stake her vampire. The man had thrown the vampire off his back and decapitated him, before swinging his sword straight through another vampire's torso, cleaving him in half. Buffy and Dawn killed another vampire each, before looking around for more

"Thanks for that," the man said

"No worries," Dawn said

Buffy took a look at the man. He was a little taller than her, with spiked blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing all black clothing, including a leather biker jacket and was now sheathing his sword into a scabbard that had gold dragons printed on it. And there was also something familiar about the man

"Do I know you?" she asked

The man walked over to her, as his eyes widened in recognition

"Buffy? Buffy Summers?"

"You know her?" Dawn asked in disbelief

"I went to school with her. I'm James Knight"

"James? James? Oh yeah, I think I know you now. You were in my English class"

"Yeah, I had brown hair back then"

"What are you doing here in Tokyo? And battling vampires?"

"What, you think I'm gonna forget about graduation?"

"Uh, I guess not"

"I've been travelling around a bit, learning how to combat against vampires"

"And you know how to use a sword"

"Not the only sword I know how to use"

Buffy rolled her eyes. James then noticed Dawn

"Who's this?"

"I'm Dawn, her little sister"

"Nice to meet you. James"

She briefly shook his hand

"So, what's happening?" James asked, "What brings you to Tokyo anyway?"

"We're after a powerful witch named Amy Madison," Buffy answered

"Amy's a witch? Wow. Some things never cease to amaze"

"She's here in Tokyo, hoping to bring around an apocalypse"

"Sounds bad. Alright, let's go"

"What do you mean, let's go?" Buffy asked

"I mean, let's get going and stop Amy," James answered

"Uh-uh. You're a civilian. I can't bring you into the fight"

"But you can bring your little sister into the fight?"

"She's trained, by me, the Slayer"

"Well, I wasn't exactly trained by a Slayer, but I know how to handle myself. You might as well give up, cause I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm gonna help out"

"Fine. If you get killed, don't come crying to me"

"Wasn't planning on crying"

"Come on, let's go," Buffy said

She turned and left the alley, followed by James and Dawn

"She always like this?" James whispered to Dawn

"Oh yeah"

"This is gonna be fun"

††††††††††

"Got anything?" Xander asked

"No. She's hiding herself pretty well," Willow answered

"You can't get anything on her?" Kennedy asked, "And yet she was able to track you"

"I wasn't expecting her at all," Willow countered, "Besides, I did get her last time. She's much better prepared this time around"

"How do you find a witch who doesn't want to be found?" Xander asked

"Not easy," Willow answered

"We're getting nowhere with this," Kennedy said, "We should just head home and work it all out tomorrow"

"At least we can cross this area off the map," Xander said

"Map?"

"Sending visuals back to Scotland, so they can tell us where we've been"

"Yeah, let's head back," agreed Willow

The trio turned and headed back to their hotel. Once they had disappeared, Amy materialized out of the mist floating nearby, watching the direction they had gone

"Oh, that is sad, Willow, that even the mighty earth mother couldn't sense me, even so close. Then again, I am pretty good. And I have a nice little surprise in store for you and your friends soon. Just you wait"

Still smirking, Amy began to float into the air, before flying away through the night sky. Several metres away, Willow suddenly clutched her head

"What is it?" Xander asked

"It's her," Willow answered, "I just sensed her"

"Is she nearby?" Kennedy asked

"No, she's gone"

††††††††††


	15. Catching Up

††††††††††

Dawn, James and Buffy arrived back at their apartment to find that Willow, Kennedy and Xander were already there

"Any luck?" Buffy asked

"Nothing," Xander answered, "But Willow did gain a big headache"

"One minute I couldn't sense her and the next I could," Willow said, "And who is this?" she asked, referring to James

"James Knight, Willow," he answered, "You should know me. We had computer classes together in Sunnydale High"

Before Willow could answer, the phone rang and Dawn answered. She was on the phone for a few minutes, writing something on a piece of paper, before hanging up and turning to Willow

"Um, Will, could I talk to you quickly please?"

"Uh, sure okay"

"Who was that?" asked Buffy

"It's nothing really, but I need to talk to Willow"

They headed into one of the rooms, as Buffy and James turned back to the other two

"James Knight?" Xander said, "Weren't you in my gym class as well?"

"Okay, I'll make it simple. I was in the same year as you guys. Just because I never hung around you doesn't mean I don't know you and vice versa"

"So, you were there at graduation when the mayor turned into a big snake?" Xander continued

James sighed

"Yeah and that was one crazy night. I saw Harmony Kendall get bitten by a vampire"

"Yeah, she's a vampire also," Buffy said, "Don't know where she is now"

"So, what brings you to Tokyo?" Xander asked

"I've been here for a few years, learning the ways of the sword. I was in Korea for several years before that, learning tae kwon do. Got my black belt and came here. Been learning and fighting vamps ever since"

Willow and Dawn came out of the room. Dawn was wearing a light pink and purple dress and had her hair done up with curls framing her face. Buffy's eyes widened

"Where are you going?"

"There's a ball happening tonight," Willow answered, "And Angel called Dawn to come along and keep his son company"

"What?"

"I'm gone," Dawn said

Willow whisked her out the door before Buffy could reply

"Who's Angel?" James asked

"You got time?" Xander asked

"Uh, no. Have I told you I can help you out?"

"Huh?"

"Don't ask," said Buffy, "James wants to help us stop Amy"

"Do you have any special abilities?" Xander asked him

"Do you?"

"No"

"Neither do I. And from the looks of things, you've help Buffy out a lot"

"Been with her since the start"

"So? I'm trained, very well trained and I can help. The more help you have, the better it is for you to take on Amy"

"We've got, like, five hundred slayers working for us," Kennedy said, "With another thirteen hundred around the world, all waiting for the right time"

"Oh"

"Still doesn't mean you can't help," said Xander, "I mean, I agree with him. We could use all the help we can get. Amy does have the military with her"

"The military?" James said with surprise, "The military are gunning after you? Damn, are you in for it"

"And the Sect of the Black Scorpion," said Kennedy, "Can't forget them"

"Angel's dealing with them," said Buffy, "That's why he's here in Tokyo"

"Again, who is Angel?"

"He's a vampire with a soul, some old lover of Buffy's," Kennedy answered

"Thank you for that straight and blunt answer," Buffy said

"Sorry"

"So, am I allowed to help or what?" James asked

"Fine, you can help out. Tomorrow, we're tracking Amy with Willow and see if we can get anything this time"

"Well, we kinda did, except Amy was gone," Xander said

"Is Willow a witch?"

"Yeah and a very powerful one," Kennedy replied, "Almost destroyed the world once"

"Okay…huh?"

"Again, don't ask," said Buffy

"Wow, I guess you learn new things everyday," James said, "Last I remember, Willow was a kinda shy wallflower"

"Oh she isn't anymore," Xander smiled

"Okay, I think we should be getting some rest, seeing as we're going after Amy tomorrow," Buffy said, as Willow returned, "Where did Dawn go?"

"To a ball with Angel"

"And why is Angel at a ball?" asked Xander

"Beats me. Apparently he wanted Dawn to be there"

"Well, at least Spike would be there, watching over her," Buffy said

"And who's Spike? Or shouldn't I ask?"

"Another vampire with a soul," replied Xander, "Died saving the world. Is now back again. Another one of Buffy's lovers"

"Hey"

"Boy, don't you just love vampires huh?" James snickered, "I thought you were supposed to slay them. Anyhow, I'll see you all tomorrow"

He waved goodbye and left

"Who was that exactly?" Willow asked

"James Knight, an old school friend of ours and now fulltime vampire hunter"

"Well, whoda though?"

"Come on, guys, let's go to bed," said Buffy, "When will Dawn be back?"

"Sometime later tonight perhaps, maybe tomorrow," Willow answered, "Goodnight, Buffy. Night, Xander"

"See you all tomorrow," Xander said

And then it was all dark in the apartment

††††††††††


	16. Making a Deal

††††††††††

Giles straightened when he could hear noises downstairs. He had fallen asleep while reading about the Black Scorpion. Now it became apparent that the noises downstairs were actually shouting and screaming. Racing over to his weapons cabinet, Giles grabbed a sword and headed downstairs, where he found the bodies of slayers strewn around the room like rag dolls. Blood was splattered on the walls and ceiling, as Giles cautiously looked around the place

"Well, well, it's the watcher himself. I was wondering when you would come down"

Giles whirled around and raised his sword, as Amy smirked and got up from against the wall, before sauntering over to him

"Oh please, you think that will stop me?"

"Shall we find out? You just murdered a lot of innocent girls!"

"Innocent? As if"

"What do you want, Amy?"

"I want the world, Rupert. I want everything"

"Too bad you're not getting it"

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Amy smirked, "Send your golden girl and her band of slayers after me. Take a look around at this carnage. Buffy won't last long. And I'll make sure to kill her slowly so she suffers"

Giles swung at her head. Amy ducked under the blade and kicked him in the chest, throwing him through the air to land against the upturned desk. Giles groaned, as Amy kicked a body aside and walked over to him

"Honestly, you could do better"

Giles began muttering in Latin, as a barrier of energy suddenly sprang up between him and Amy, throwing her against the wall. She laughed and got up

"Oh come on, that is so weak. Watch"

Amy threw a small energy bolt at the shield, destroying it instantly

"I've got so much power, I don't think Red would stand a chance in the next fight"

"And that is what would be your downfall: arrogance," Giles said

Amy raised her hand and an unseen force lifted Giles up, bringing him close to her

"Well, at least I know I got the one thing that Buffy cherishes most"

††††††††††

"I'm back," Dawn called

No one answered. Then she realized everyone must be asleep and headed to her own room to go to bed. When the morning came around, Dawn was one of the first to wake up. She left her room and headed into the kitchen, where James was, making himself a cup of coffee

"Hi, Dawn"

"Morning, James"

"Enjoy your night out?"

"I sure did"

"That's good then"

"So, what did you do last night?"

"Talked a lot. Boring talk of course, but I hung around and listened"

"Anything interesting?"

"No, apart from searching for Amy today. Speaking of which, we should be getting everyone awake here"

"Any ideas?"

"One minute"

James went through the cupboards, before grabbing a large pot and wooden spoon

"Oldest trick in the book," Dawn snickered

"Works every time though"

James headed to the bedrooms and began clanging on the pot, instantly waking everyone up. Buffy was the first to exit her room, glaring at James, before heading into the kitchen, as Willow, Xander and Kennedy soon followed. It was some time before everyone was fully awake and ready to go

"We ready to go?" Buffy asked

"Yeah, sure are," Xander answered

"Good. Let's go"

Buffy headed for the door and opened it, only to find Amy standing there, a small smile on her face, as everyone behind Buffy froze

"Amy?"

"You were expecting Santa Claus?"

"How did you know where we were?"

"Isn't that hard. I got a lock on Willow's astral signature"

"But I've been blocking mine," Willow said

"Okay, I lied. I got Buffy's"

"What do you want?" asked Buffy

"Voll and I have a nice deal for you"

"Oh this has got to be good"

"It is, once you hear what's at stake. Daddy dearest?"

"My dad?"

"No, not your actual dad. Could get him if I wanted to. No, we have Giles"

"Let him go," Buffy growled

"Hmm, no. Tell you what, I'll make a deal with you"

"What is it?"

"You come to the Watchers' Council in England, alone and we'll let Giles go unharmed. Well less unharmed than he already is"

Buffy took a step towards Amy, who smiled and stepped back, wagging her finger

"You have until sunset tomorrow"

A small whirlwind sprung up around Amy, taking her away from sight

"Whoa, that was kinda cool," James said

Buffy slowly turned and faced the others

"We have to rescue Giles"

"Well, thanks for pointing out the obvious," Xander said, "We all have to go in"

"No. I'll go alone. I can't risk Giles getting anymore hurt than he already is, if Amy's telling the truth"

"How did Amy get past the slayers?" Willow asked

"Killed them all, I guess," Xander answered

"Okay, we'll all heading back to Scotland and we're gonna work out what we're gonna do from there," Buffy said, "But remember, Giles' safety is first and foremost priority"

"And we're second priority," muttered Kennedy

"Is the Giles you're talking about the librarian from Sunnydale or a different Giles?" James asked

††††††††††


	17. Rescue Mission

††††††††††

"What's the plan, Buff?" Xander asked as Buffy stormed into the command room

They had arrived back at their castle in Scotland and Buffy was not in a happy mood, which made everyone wary of her, worried about what she would do

"We're getting Giles back. And killing Amy while we're at it"

"How?"

"Call up Andrew"

Xander punched in the number, as Andrew appeared on the screen

"Hello?"

"Andrew, hi," said Buffy, "I need you to send of group of slayers over to the Watchers' Council on the double"

"Uh yeah, sure. Any reason why?"

"Just do it. I'll meet you there"

"I'm going?"

"Yes you are"

"Okay then"

"Buff, you heard Amy. She wants you to come alone," said Xander, "Are you sure you want to have Giles killed because you didn't listen"

"Xander, it's Giles. I have to save him. I can't let him die"

"I understand that, but we need to think this through. Come up with a plan"

"Make one fast. I'm going. I'm sick of Amy being one step ahead of me"

Buffy headed back to her room and grabbed the Scythe, with Xander quickly behind her

"So, that's it? You're gonna run into a fight without thinking ahead. Amy is a very powerful witch"

"Which is why I'm taking Willow. Amy will no doubt have the army with her. Which is why I sent Andrew along with slayers to engage them and I'll rescue Giles while Willow holds Amy off. Once we have Giles, then we can think"

"Very well. I'm behind you all the way"

"Look after Dawn for me"

"Why can't I come?" Dawn asked, coming out of her bedroom

"Because I need to have slayers with me on this one. We'll be strong enough to fight the military and Amy"

"So you're saying I'm weak?"

"No. You've proved yourself a lot, but I can't take you on this one"

"Fine"

"Xander, get Willow and Kennedy. I want them ready to go by now"

Xander and Dawn left, as Buffy came across several slayers

"Are we coming?" asked one

"I'll take a few of you. Andrew will be there will a group already"

"Strength in numbers," said Leah

"Okay, Leah, you go and get Satsu and Rowena. Since the rest of you asked me first, getting ready. Don't worry about the other slayers. Xander will need them here. Go"

"On it"

The slayers dispersed, as Buffy left the castle and headed out into the courtyard. She didn't have to wait long, as Willow and Kennedy were the first to arrive

"We got Xander's message," Willow said, "Are you sure about this?"

"It's Giles. I'm not leaving him to die at Amy's hands"

"Okay, I see your point. Are we waiting on the slayers?"

"Yeah"

Ten minutes passed before the slayers arrived, all geared up with weapons and light body armour. Willow ushered them all together, before standing nearby with her arms wide open

"Ready for this? You'll feel some slight sickness"

"Oh great," muttered a slayer, "I just had lunch too"

Willow gave her a small smile, before saying a spell in Latin, as a dark pink cloud of dust appeared around the slayers and herself. Buffy braced herself for the teleporting pull at her gut and the next minute she was in London. The slayer who had spoken before tottered away to throw up, as Buffy looked around. All the slayers and Willow were accounted for

"Okay, Will, how far away are we from the Council?"

"Not far. It should be around this corner here"

Buffy nodded and touched her comlink

"Xander, do you read us?"

"Loud and clear, Buff"

"How are we?"

"Looking good. Except for that slayer over there chundering"

"The trip wasn't nice on her stomach"

"Is it for anyone?"

"Just get going"

"On it"

Buffy led the way towards the Watchers' Council, where she found Andrew waiting with his band of slayers, which Buffy noted wasn't all of them

"Hi Buffy. Hi Willow," Andrew greeted

"Andrew," said Willow

"We ready for this?" Andrew asked

"Let's get going," Buffy agreed

Buffy opened the front door and was instantly greeted with the sight of dead slayers lying around in the lobby

"Oh man, this is bad," said Rowena, "Amy wasn't nice at all"

"Spread out and keep your eyes open," Buffy ordered, "Amy is here, no doubt with friends. We can't let her know we're here. Xander, those psychics did the spell to protect our auras?"

"They sure did. Just before you left. The ones in Italy also did the same for Andrew and his group"

"Good. Let's go everyone"

Buffy, Willow and Kennedy headed upstairs towards Giles' office. Suddenly, a large dark demon came crashing out of one of the rooms, snarling and showing off its large yellow fangs, drool hanging off them

"Nice demon," Buffy said as she drew the Scythe, "Wanna play?"

The demon snarled and lunged, as Buffy swung the Scythe and cracked it across the face. The demon yelped, as Buffy embedded the blade into its chest. The demon groaned and keeled over, blood pooling around it, as Buffy reached Giles' office and kicked the door open. About thirty rifles were instantly cocked at her, as Amy got up from the desk. Buffy looked past her shoulder and saw Giles tied to his chair, his glasses missing and blood all over his face, neck and shoulders

"Giles"

"Buffy…?"

"You didn't come alone," Amy accused

"Neither did you," Buffy said

"Yes, well"

"Hand him over and no one gets hurt"

"Only if you hand yourself over"

"I got a better idea. Willow"

Willow spread her arms, as the rifles were ripped away from the soldiers and placed at the feet of the slayers. Buffy gripped the Scythe, as Amy smiled

"Fine. Kill them"

The slayers charged at the soldiers, easily outmatching them in combat skills and strength. Amy saw this and cringed, as Buffy smiled and swung the Scythe. Amy caught the weapon, as her other hand glowed green. Buffy slammed against the wall, as Willow's eyes turned black and she sent Amy flying across the room. Amy got to her feet and sent a magical blast back at Willow, who deflected it. Amy growled and waved her hands, slamming Willow against the ceiling, as the battle between the slayers and the soldiers spilled out into the hallway

Buffy got to her feet and went for Amy with a flying kick, but Amy dodged her and punched her. Buffy whirled around from the blow and jammed the Scythe handle into her stomach, then cracking her in the jaw. Amy stumbled back, but put up a shield between her and Buffy, before slamming Buffy against the wall with a magical lightning bolt. Willow sent a blast that broke through Amy's shield and threw her into the wall. Amy got to her feet, rage in her eyes

"Oh, honey!"

Another door opened, as Warren stepped into the room, carrying what looked like a crossbow, but with a control panel built onto the stock

"What the?" Willow said

A red dot appeared on her chest, as Warren pulled the trigger. Willow twisted her body, but she was too slow, as the bolt slammed into her shoulder. She cried out, as Warren pressed a button, sending a powerful electrical shock into Willow's body

"Willow!" Buffy cried

"Shut up," said Amy, striking her with an energy blast

Willow fell to the ground, as Amy joined Warren

"Nice seeing you and all that, but we'll leave now"

Amy and Warren laughed as they left the room and the sounds of battle subsided. Buffy struggled to get to Willow, but fell against the wall, her eyes closing

††††††††††


	18. Battle in England

††††††††††

"What the hell happened?" James asked

"I don't know," Xander answered, "The line just went dead"

"Obviously that means it's not good news"

"Maybe Buffy turned it off for a reason"

"Well, it better be a good reason"

"Andrew, can you hear me?" Xander called into the comlink

There was no answer

"Okay, I'm heading over to England," James said

"Wait, they'll reply soon"

"Okay, I'll wait then"

Just then, the screen flickered to life, as Andrew appeared, blood running down from a cut on his forehead

"Hi guys"

"Andrew?" Xander said, "What happened?"

"We found Giles and Amy and the army. We got beaten kinda bad, but Amy left with the army and we're okay. We've got Giles with us and we're sending your guys back. Be ready and get ready. They're injured. And Willow, well she's…"

"She's what?" Xander asked

"You'll have to see for yourself. They're coming now"

The screen went blank, as Xander turned to the slayers

"Get the hospital room ready. We're getting a lot of injured coming in, so first-aid kits and stretchers, on the double, now"

"Wow, Xander, you sure have come a long way from a nerd in high school," James snickered, "Commander of a bunch of slayers. Whoda thought?"

A green light appeared in the middle of the room, quickly followed by Leah, who was supporting Kennedy. She had a cut in her thigh and stomach, as Leah handed her to a couple of slayers

"Leah!"

Leah turned around to face Xander, as Dawn came into the room

"How is everyone?" Xander asked

"We're okay. Could be better, but we're fine, except for Willow"

"What happened to Willow?" Dawn asked

Several slayers appeared in the middle of the room, supporting each other, as other slayers tended to them. Satsu, Giles and Buffy were the next to arrive, although Buffy was lying on the floor unconscious and Giles was barely awake

"How long has she been like that?" James asked Satsu

"A few hours now"

Rowena and Willow were the last to appear. Like Buffy, Willow was lying down unconscious. To Xander, she looked like she had been drained and there was a wound on her shoulder

"What happened to Willow?" Xander asked

"Psychics ran few tests. She was hit by a crossbow bolt that delivered a severe electric shock, neutralizing her powers"

It took Xander a minute to work it out

"She doesn't have her powers?"

"Not really. She has them, but they're really weak. Like when she was first becoming a witch. She can't help us much now"

"Amy was able to do that?"

"I'm guessing it was mostly Warren," Rowena answered, "Looks more scientific than magical"

"How long before she regains her powers to full strength?" James asked

"Don't know. Depends. A few days, maybe a week, maybe more"

"Get to the hospital now. And psychics, you're taking over in the magic department now," Xander said, "Watch out for Amy"

The injured slayers, along with Giles and Willow were taken away to the hospital, as Xander sat down

"She will be fine, right?" Dawn asked, "Both Willow and Buffy?"

"Yeah, Dawnie, they'll be fine," Xander answered, "They're both strong. They've suffered worse than this"

"So, when are we taking Amy down?" James asked

"First and best chance we get," Xander replied

††††††††††

"You didn't capture Buffy, much like your orders were," General Voll said

Amy rolled her eyes

"I took her witch out. Well, actually Warren did"

"I don't care. The plan was for Buffy to hand herself over in exchange for the Watcher"

"Yeah, I also told her to come alone, which she didn't. And besides, Willow's down and out for the moment. There's not much they can do. They're weak"

"And so are you"

"Excuse me? I am the most powerful witch on the planet now"

"Thanks to us. We greatly augmented your powers in exchange for your help"

"And you got our help. We've struck them hard. Also, Warren and I have cause more damage to them than you and your army. At least I'm not afraid of Buffy"

"But you haven't killed her yet"

"Like you've done better? You couldn't even shoot her and you even told her what was happening"

"She had to know that the whole world was against her. Also, she had two vampires with her. Vampires! Explain that"

"Old lovers" Amy answered, "Big deal. They helped her once and that was it. We're not talking about the vampires, we're talking about Buffy"

"And you will kill her"

"I will when I feel the time is right. Not you. Besides, I'm getting sick and tired of you always giving me orders"

Amy shot a bolt straight through Voll, killing him instantly

"Sweetheart"

Warren came into the room

"It's time. You have the device ready?"

"Ready and waiting to go, baby. Now, we can really crush Buffy"

"Good. I've been waiting a long time for this"

††††††††††


	19. An Unexpected Friend

††††††††††

"How are you feeling, Buff?" James asked

"Like I got hit over the head with a sledgehammer," Buffy answered

"Big headache then, huh? I only get that one when I'm hungover"

"You get hangovers?"

"Not anymore. I don't party much these days, with all the vampire hunting that I do"

"Uh-huh. And how long have you been doing that for?"

"Ever since graduation day really"

"You really need a time-out"

"One day. When this is all over, I'll go out and party again for a week"

"You should meet Faith. You'll get along really well"

"Faith? She was in high school for a while, wasn't she?"

"Yeah. She dropped out. She's living in Los Angeles now"

"Sounds cool. I've been to that city once. Didn't like it much"

"How you finding it here?"

"Yeah, alright"

"Buffy," cried Dawn, "Thank god I found you"

"What? Why?" Buffy asked

"There's someone here who you have to meet"

"Who?"

"You just have to come with me, okay"

Buffy and James followed Dawn to the command room, where Xander was talking the person Dawn wanted Buffy to see. And Buffy's jaw dropped when she saw him

"Riley?"

Riley turned around and saw Buffy, smiling at her and walking over to her

"Hey, Buffy"

"Oh my god, I can't believe it. You're here. How did you know where I was?"

"I know some people who know other people who know you"

"It's good to see you"

Buffy gave him a hug, as James looked on with a raised eyebrow, before clearing his throat

"Who's this?" Riley asked

"James Knight, old school friend of Buffy's," James answered

"I'm Riley Finn, her old boyfriend," Riley said, shaking his hand

"Well, you're an idiot"

"James, not a good topic to talk about," Buffy warned

"Oh, right"

"Is Sam here?" Buffy asked Riley

"Yeah, she's around here somewhere. I think Willow's showing her around"

"You want to have a look around as well?"

"Maybe later. First off, I'll tell you why I'm here"

"Yeah, we were just getting to that," said Xander, "We were just catching up and then you showed up, so now we're pretty much together, we can talk"

"As you know, I'm part of a black ops army unit that deals with demons," Riley said, "And that we are somewhat separate from the army. Which is why we weren't swept up by Amy"

"You know about Amy?" Buffy asked

"Yeah. We've been hearing reports about her. Anyhow, we've also received reports that she's killed General Voll and has taken over as commander of the military"

"Uh-oh," James said

"Right with you," Xander agreed

"And to add insult to injury, she's been experimenting the soldiers, combining their DNA with demonic DNA, basically making super-soldiers"

"Kinda like the Initiative," Buffy said

"Yeah, that's why I'm here," Riley said, "We're here to help"

"You and Sam?" Xander asked

"Me, Sam and our entire black ops team. They want to help bring Amy down. We all see her as a threat. With that super army, she could destroy the world"

"Nice little apocalypse," Buffy muttered

"And if Amy joins with the Black Scorpions, bye-bye to the world definitely," said Xander

"We have to stop her," Buffy said

"How?" asked James

"Hi guys," said Willow as she and Sam came into the room

"How was the tour?" Riley asked his wife

"It was great. You have a great place here, Buffy," Sam said

"I'm glad you like it"

"Back to the topic here," Xander said, "Amy is creating a super army. Doesn't that ring any warning bells for anyone?"

"Well, obviously we need to take her out," said Riley, "But she would be very well protected. Willow, could you do a spell or something?"

Willow shook her head

"I lost my powers the other day. I'm finding it hard to get them back"

"Oh. I'm sorry"

"The only idea I can think of is waging a big battle with Amy," suggested Xander, "Seeing as we have more numbers than her if we got all the slayers from around the world, we can stand a chance of winning. It's just where can we have it?"

"Africa," answered Sam, "Open, vast wilderness"

"Perfect place, if we don't get eaten," said Xander, "Unless they eat Amy's boys, then that shouldn't be so bad"

"First off, we need to get all the slayers from around to gather in Africa," said Willow, "Then we need to let Amy know about it and see what happens"

"So, Africa it is?" Buffy asked

"Yeah, it is," agreed Xander

"Good. Xander, you call up Andrew, Wood and everyone else, letting them know about what's going on, got it?"

"Yep"

"Where are you going?" Riley asked Buffy

"I have to check on Giles"

She left the room and headed for the hospital room, where she found Giles sitting in his bed, reading a _Time Life_ magazine. He lowered the magazine when she came into the room and sat on the bed beside him

"How are you feeling?" she asked

"Feeling much better now," Giles answered, "Any word on Amy?"

"Yeah, Riley's here with Sam and he's told us what's going on"

"Riley's here? In the castle?"

"Yeah he is. Just showed up out of nowhere pretty much"

"So, what news has he brought us?"

"Amy's killed the general and has taken over the army. She's got Warren turning the soldiers into super soldiers using demonic DNA. It's gonna be a huge battle"

"What are you going to do?"

"We've decided to battle Amy in Africa. We'll get all the slayers we can get to join us there and hopefully defeat Amy there"

"Amy is very powerful and Willow hasn't got her full powers back yet. Are you sure about this, Buffy?"

"To be honest, no, not really. But it's the best idea we've got for now"

"I see. Well, when I get out of here, I'll look for a spell to help get Willow's full powers back"

"Until then, you rest and recover"

Giles gave her a small smile

"You don't really have to worry about me"

"Yes I do. You're still my watcher, if unofficially, but also, you're like my father and you're the one person I don't want to lose"

Giles pulled Buffy in for a hug, ignoring the tears of happiness in his eyes

"I better get going and try to prepare for this battle," Buffy said

She left the room, as Giles smiled and went back to his magazine

††††††††††


	20. Setting the Game

††††††††††

Giles checked himself out of the hospital wing and headed straight for the library, but he came across Dawn instead

"Hey, Giles, you're out"

"Yes, I know"

"So, what are you doing?"

"Going to do some research on Willow's problem"

"Oh. I've been doing a bit of that. Haven't found much"

"On the magic used or how to get her powers back?"

"Magic used, but it could have been from that electrical shock she got from Warren"

"True. If that's the case, then we'll research for the spell to restore her powers"

"Come on, let's go. Um, don't you want to let Buffy know you're out?"

"I'll be fine, thanks, Dawn. Let's get this done"

"Okay"

Dawn and Giles headed to the library, where Giles could see the pile of books that Dawn had made over two tables. He grabbed a book and leafed through it

"You've been doing a lot of research"

"I know. I want Willow to get better. She hasn't been happy since the ordeal"

"No, I imagine not. Let's get into it"

Giles went through the bookshelves, as Dawn continued reading her books

††††††††††

"Cleveland. This should do," Amy said

"This is where one of Buffy's friends live," said Warren, "At least through here, we can send her a message"

Amy turned back to look at her demonically enhanced army

"You know what to do. Kill anything that moves. But save me Robin Wood"

The army roared, before charging into the city

"You stay here," Amy told Warren

"Why?"

"Keeping you out of the way. But once I get Wood, you can come and have fun"

"Very well then"

Amy smiled, as she flew above the city and began raining down energy bolts, as her demon army ravaged the city

††††††††††

"Oh no"

Willow stumbled forth, but Kennedy and Buffy caught her

"Will, what is it?" Buffy asked

"Amy. She's grown stronger," Willow gasped

She headed for the command room and began dialling a number

"Willow, what's wrong?" asked Xander

"Don't know," Buffy answered, "She was normal one minute and the next, she was breathing heavily and such"

The screen flickered to life, as Wood appeared on the screen. He had blood on his face, but it wasn't his own

"Wood, you don't look so good, but what's happening?" Buffy asked

Wood didn't answer, as he was suddenly thrown away from the screen and Amy took his place, a large evil grin on her face

"Hi, guys"

"What did you do to Wood?" Buffy demanded

"Oh, he's fine, just a little bloodied up"

"What do you want?"

"You to kneel before me and beg for mercy when my armies sweep this world. And you might wanna beg real hard too, cause all your slayer friends here in Cleveland…are dead"

"What?"

"That's right. I just killed all the slayers here. Except for Wood, cause well, he's not a slayer. He's just the message"

"There's one way we can settle this"

"There's two. Either you surrender to me or we wage war"

"I was actually thinking more along the latter"

"Good. I was hoping you say that"

"We have a place to meet. Africa, in the open wilderness"

Amy grinned

"Sounds perfect. Lead me away from civilization to reduce innocent casualties. I like it. Sounds just like you, Buff"

"Look, we'll meet there in two days, okay? Leave Wood alone and the rest of the slayers alone, okay?"

"Can't agree to that, but I'll agree for the showdown in Africa. Might wanna start praying, especially cause that you're now down by one hundred slayers and a witch"

The screen went blank, as James and Riley came into the room

"What we miss?" Riley asked

"Amy's got her army," answered Buffy, "She's just wiped out all the slayers in Cleveland. But she's agreed to meet us in Africa in two days"

"Alright, let's start getting ready," James said, "I wanna bring this bitch down"

"We finally found it," cried Giles as he came into the room with Dawn

"Giles, you're out of hospital," said Buffy, shocked at his sudden appearance

"I thought you think that, seeing as I'm right here," Giles said smiling

"What did you find?" Xander asked

"The spell to restore Willow's powers," Dawn answered

"Oh thank goddess," Willow smiled, "What are we waiting for?"

"Amy's gonna be in for a big surprise now," grinned Riley

"What do we do?" Willow asked

"Stand here," Giles answered, as he drew a pentagram, "And then five of us will stand on the points, as one reads the spell. The power of the five will summon the power lost"

Once Giles finished the drawing, Willow stepped into the centre, as Giles took the head point. Buffy took the point on his left, as Xander took Giles' right

"Who else is coming in?" Giles asked

Dawn stood next to Buffy, as James stood next to Xander

"Ready?" Giles asked

"Yeah," Willow answered, feeling a little nervous

"Good," said Giles, as he began reading the spell

††††††††††


	21. Heading to Africa

††††††††††

An African tribesman looked up from his cattle, staring out into the wilderness. He was hearing a strange noise, unlike anything he had ever heard before in his life. Suddenly, a large portal opened up nearby and a woman with shoulder-length brown hair walked out, followed by a man covered in some strange suit

"This looks good," said the woman

The tribesman grabbed his spear, but the woman spied him and smiled

"I don't think you'll get a chance to use that"

A blue bolt of energy flew from her hand and shot straight through his chest, killing him instantly. Amy walked over to the body and smiled

"What a shame. Warren, bring them out"

Warren nodded and stuck his head back into the portal, before stepping aside as the demonic army came marching out, followed by demon soldiers in jeeps, trucks and tanks, as Amy flew straight up

"Let's make some room," she grinned, as the army attacked the tribe

††††††††††

"Oh no, she's at it again," groaned Willow

"What is Amy doing?" Buffy asked

"She's in Africa, attacking the people there"

"And she's letting you know about this?" Xander asked

"It's a message," Buffy said, "Hurry up or we kill more people"

"No, I don't think it's a message," said Willow, "I think she's setting the battleground"

"Well, looks like we have to get everyone there, pronto," said Buffy

"We're gonna have to meet somewhere away from Amy," said Xander, "Just so we can get everything together and ready to take her on"

"Assembled the troops," said Buffy, "Xander, call everyone up and let them know that we are ready to go. Willow, tell all the slayers to get ready. We're going to war"

Xander headed to the screen and called up Andrew, telling him to ready his slayers and take them to the start of the Nile River to wait for the others

Buffy headed for her room and got changed into her light-armoured clothing, fixing up her gloves, before grabbing the Scythe and heading back into the command room

"We moving out?" Riley asked

"Yes," Buffy answered, "Get your troops together and send them to Africa at the start of the Nile River. Andrew will meet you there"

"On it"

Riley left the room, as James came in, watching Riley go, then seeing what Buffy was wearing and holding

"You look like you're ready to go to war"

"That's the whole idea"

"Oh. Do I have to get ready too?"

"Would be best"

"Uh, yeah. You got any more outfits like that? I don't think my usual clothes would do me well in Africa"

"Go see Xander"

James headed for Xander, as Giles and Dawn entered the room

"We heard the call," said Giles

"Good. Get ready to fight. We're going to war with Amy"

"Are you sure?" Giles asked, "I mean, Amy is very powerful and she has already destroyed two groups of slayers with minimum difficulty"

"Don't worry, we've got Willow back on board. We'll be fine. Go get ready"

"Very well"

"And then meet me back here, okay?"

"Done," said Dawn, as she and Giles left

Ten minutes passed before Willow, James and Riley came back into the room

"We're all ready to go," said Riley

"Same with the slayers," said Willow

"Shall we get this show on the road?" James asked

"We shall," Buffy answered, "Willow, open the portal. The psychics will help. Xander, get all the slayers here"

"All slayers, report in," Xander called

Five minutes later, a portal was open and all the slayers had arrived, armed and ready

"We're going through there to face a powerful opponent," said Buffy, "And that opponent is going down. Just because she may have a bigger and stronger army doesn't mean a thing. With our strength, we will able to take them down. Now go through. Andrew and Wood will be waiting"

"I'll send the troops around," said Riley

"Do that. We'll need them real fast," Buffy agreed

Riley gave her a small nod and left, as the slayers began going through the portal

"I'm with him," James said, before following after Riley

Buffy, Xander and Willow were the last to go through the portal, before arriving in Africa, where Wood, Andrew and an army of slayers were waiting

"I've got a lock on her astral signature," said Willow, "She wants us to know she's here. And she's quite powerful"

"Please don't tell me she's stronger than you," said Buffy

"I don't think so. With that spell that Giles used, I say we're about equal"

"That's good. Let's get going. The sooner we move out, the quicker we can face Amy and the more lives we can save"

"How do you know she's been killing people?" Dawn asked

Buffy pointed to the black smoke rising in the distance

"Fair enough," Dawn said

"Is everyone here?" Buffy called out over everyone

"Everyone's here and accounted for," Andrew answered, "Except for of course Cleveland and England"

"That's okay. We've got Riley coming in soon with the black ops"

"Do they have Black Hawks and jets?" Andrew asked

"I don't know. Let's move out," Buffy called

"Come on, everyone, let's go," shouted Kennedy, "We've got a war to fight"

Buffy, Xander, Dawn and Willow took the lead, as the slayers fell into line and began following them, heading towards the black smoke. As they got closer, they could see other black smokes in the distance

"Boy, Amy's been keeping herself busy," Xander said

"Thank you Xander," said Buffy

A rumbling swept throughout the land, as a large army of demons came marching into view. There were also several demons driving jeeps, trucks and tanks, as well as a few jets and helicopters, while Amy flew overhead, shouting out commands. The two forces came to a stop within fifty metres of each other, as Buffy, Xander and Willow stepped forth to meet Amy and Warren

"Well, look at who finally decided to show up," Amy said, "You know, I had to destroy about ten tribes to keep myself occupied while waiting for you"

"You will be going down, Amy, I promise you," said Buffy

"Wow, nice threat. I doubt that, if you look at my army. All who have been created to be stronger than a slayer and the fact that there are more of them than you. Best of luck"

"We won't be needing luck. We have courage, hope and well, faith"

"Will that be enough to save you when you're begging for mercy. Mm, no"

"We won't be back down. We'll keep fighting until you're dead"

"Yeah, if you don't get minced before hand"

"If you think that, then you really don't know us"

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow"

"Tomorrow?" said Xander

"Yeah, tomorrow at sunrise," said Amy, "The bloodshed will begin. Will you be able to handle it, Xander? Will you even survive long enough, since you're human?"

"Fought with Buffy side-by-side for eight years. I can handle myself, thanks"

"Good. See you tomorrow"

Amy turned and flew over her army, as they turned and began moving away. Buffy and her best friends headed back to the slayers

"We're fighting tomorrow at sunrise," said Buffy, "So let's move away from here, set up camp and get a good night's rest. We'll be needing it"

The slayers murmured their agreement, before moving away from Amy's army and setting up camp, waiting for the next day to come 

††††††††††


	22. The Battle in Africa

††††††††††

"Where's Willow?" Buffy asked

"Oh, she had to leave to do something really quickly," Xander answered, "She should be back soon"

"I hope so. We can't really fight Amy without her"

"Is there something wrong?" Giles asked

"Willow's gone," Buffy answered

"Ah yes, she told me she had to go. She'll be back, don't worry"

"I'm trying not to"

A portal suddenly opened, as Willow stepped out, quickly followed by Angel, Spike, Illyria, Oz, Gwen, Connor and Faith, all of them carrying an array of weapons

"Hi," Angel said

"What are you guys doing here?" Buffy asked

"Came to help you fight this battle," Spike answered, "But if you don't need us, we'll go back to Los Angeles"

"The fight's at sunrise. How can you fight?"

Angel smiled and held up his hand, as did Spike, both of them wearing a Gem of Amara each

"I thought there was only one of them," Giles said, "But it seems I was wrong"

"The Sect was holding them in their stronghold," Angel said, "Along with these weapons. So, who do we get to kill?"

"Spike!"

Spike turned around as Dawn flew into his arms. He was caught by surprise at first, but quickly hugged Dawn, as she let go and smiled, before seeing Connor

"Hi Connor"

"How's it going?"

"Good, I guess"

"Why don't you two run along and catch up?" Angel asked

"Huh?" Buffy and Spike said at the same time

"They've been getting along really well," Angel said, trying to defend himself

"He hurts her, he's dead," Spike said in a low voice

"Come on, break it up," Faith said, "We've got a fight coming up soon and we've got to prepare for it"

"Hi, Faith, nice to see you again," said Buffy

"How's it going, B?"

"Same as always"

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," Xander said to Gwen, "Same with us as well," he added to Illyria

"My name is Gwen Raiden. What's yours?"

"Xander Harris. So I was wondering, if we-"

"No"

"Is the loss of your eye the result of war?" Illyria asked

"Ah yes it is," Xander said

Before he could say more, Spike had steered Illyria away from him, keeping an arm wrapped around her waist

"You might want to avoid him"

"Why?"

"I don't like him"

"Oh"

"Okay everyone, let's get to bed," Buffy called, "We've got a big day tomorrow"

All the slayers shuffled off to their tents, as everyone else retreated to their own, preparing themselves for the day ahead

††††††††††

The sun was just beginning to rise when Buffy first stirred from her sleep. When she awoke, she immediately got up and started getting ready, dressing up in her combat gear and grabbing the Scythe, before leaving the tent, as the rest of the slayers were getting up and getting ready. Angel emerged from his tent with Faith, who had a smile on her face

"Get ready peoples, we're going to war in the next fifteen minutes," Xander called

"Fifteen minutes? Perfect," Spike groaned, rolling his eyes

"We just want to get this over and done with," Buffy said

"Oh my God. Spike, you're here!"

Spike rolled his eyes and faced Andrew, who had Wood nearby. Wood narrowed his eyes at Spike, as Andrew made his way towards the blond vampire

"I heard you were here, I just couldn't find you"

"That's great Andrew, but we've got a war to face, so maybe we can play catch up later"

"Oh, that would be cool"

"Illyria?"

The former god-king gave Andrew a glare and he immediately backed away

"Amy's getting ready," Willow said, "She'll be here soon"

"We want to be ready by the time she gets here," Buffy said

"Riley and James are coming in now," Xander said, "They'll be here soon"

"Good"

The slayers were all ready, as they made their formations. Buffy, Angel, Willow, Xander, Spike and Faith were standing at the front of the slayers, as Amy's army came racing towards them

"Tanks shells," Xander cried

Willow raised her hands, creating a shield which deflected the shells. Gunshots were fired across the wilderness, but bounced off the shield

"Looks like we have to do this the old way," Amy called, "Hand to hand. Attack!"

The demons roared and raced towards the slayers, as Willow lowered the shield and flew up into the air to meet Amy. Very quickly, the brightening sky was lit up with green and blue energy blasts flying through the air, as the demons made contact with the slayers. Blood went flying, as demons and slayers began fighting and falling

"Stay close to me," Connor said as he killed a demon

"Yeah, no worries," Dawn answered after killing a demon

"Here they are," Xander called

Several Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead; raining bullets and rockets down upon the demonic army, ripping them apart, as a few helicopters hovered overhead, depositing the soldiers into the thick of the battle. James already had his sword drawn and immediately leapt into the fray, slicing into the demons, as Riley dropped soon after him, firing his M16 at demons, careful not to hit any of the slayers

Buffy dodged a large clawed hand coming at her head and sliced upwards, but the demon roared and swung his other fist. Buffy let go of the Scythe and kicked the demon, before ripping the Scythe away and slicing into it again. The demon groaned and fell, as two more demons lunged at Buffy, but a werewolf flew past her and tackled the demons, ripping into them

"Thanks Oz," Buffy called as she slashed another demon

Angel and Spike were back-to-back, fighting together in perfect tandem, using their one hundred years of collective experience of one other and their skills, while Faith, Illyria and Gwen were fighting together in a tight group. Faith had a shredder rifle, a gun that fired bladed discs, ripping into the demons from afar, as Illyria and Gwen took down any demons that came near

Willow dodged Amy's blast and fired one of her own. Amy caught the blast and redirected it towards a slayer, killing her instantly. Willow spread her arms, creating a whirlwind around Amy and tossing her through the air. Amy laughed and struck Willow with a magical bolt

"How does that feel?" Amy asked

A bolt struck her in the chest, throwing her back several feet

"You tell me," Willow answered, her eyes and hair roots black

"Come on, Will, go dark. Show me what you've got"

Amy dodged Willow's blast and sent one of her own towards a Black Hawk, destroying the helicopter and sending it crashing to Earth, as Willow created a box around Amy, magically constricting it, as flames appeared inside and burning Amy. The witch screamed and broke the box, before striking Willow with a spell that instantly disoriented her. Amy flew forth and pressed her hand to Willow's stomach, hitting her with a magical blast at point blank. Willow recovered quickly and hit Amy with one of her own, before summoning all of her darkest magic

"You want to see me go dark?" Willow asked, "Fine. Let's see how you can handle it"

Amy laughed and began preparing her own counter-attack

"Show me"

Willow's hair turned black, as she fired her spell, at the same time that Amy fired her. Willow struggled against Amy's magic, but summoned the rest of her dark magic and forced the spell onto Amy, ripping her apart. Willow's hair and eyes returned to normal, as she fell towards the ground. The fusion of Willow and Amy's magic exploded, shooting towards the demonic army and striking them, turning them back into their human forms. The former demons looked around the place, wondering what was going on as they surveyed the carnage lying around them

"Willow!" cried Kennedy

Buffy and Xander flanked her as they fell beside Willow. Xander checked her pulse and found she still had one

"What happened to Amy?" Dawn asked

"She's gone," Buffy said, watching the soldiers trying to comprehend what had happened, "It's all over now"

††††††††††


	23. Returning to Scotland

††††††††††

"So, what happens now?" Angel asked

"Riley's taking all the soldiers back home with him," Buffy answered, "And we're all going home to rest for like a week. What about you?"

"Los Angeles still needs cleaning up. And that's what we're going to do"

He looked around at the scene before him. Slayers and soldiers were getting patched up, as others were going through the dead, gathering them up

"Looks like this could take a while," Angel said

"Yeah, it could," Buffy agreed, "All because some witch wanted revenge. And now we have all these dead people who shouldn't have died"

"That's war for you. It's all about stupid, pointless death"

"Yeah. So, when are you leaving?"

"Soon. Once I find everyone"

"Hey, Buffy, Angel"

The pair turned around to see Connor and Dawn walking towards them, holding hands

"Oh thank God you're alright," Buffy said, hugging Dawn

"Yeah, you too"

"Um, Dawn and I had an idea," Connor said, looking more at Buffy than his father, "We want to see each other, but it's a bit hard seeing as we're on different continents"

"So we thought, what if I came back to Los Angeles with you and lived with you," Dawn finished

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked

"Yeah"

"What do you think, Angel?"

"It's fine with me"

"You know you'll have to get all your things packed and such"

"Yeah, I know"

"Is this where everyone is?" came Spike's voice

Dawn whirled around and hugged Spike, as he hugged her back

"Glad you made it, Nibblet"

"Same to you. Guess what, I'm gonna live with you"

"Huh?" Spike said, looking at Angel and Buffy

"It was their idea," Angel said

"Fair enough"

"So, when are we going home?" Faith asked

"Soon," Angel answered, pulling her in for a hug and quick kiss

"Hope it's real soon," Faith smiled, raising an eyebrow

"Get a room," Buffy groaned, rolling her eyes, "Hey guys!"

Riley and James headed towards her, followed by Willow, Xander and Giles

"You made it," Buffy said

"You should know by now, it's hard to kill us," Xander grinned

"Yeah, well, I'm surprised I made it," James said, "Never been in something like that before"

"Well, you had the demons scared, the way you were going crazy in there," said Riley

"Adrenalin rush. Can make you go crazy"

"I can't believe this had to happen," Giles said, "That it all had to come down to this"

"It was all stupid and pointless," Willow agreed, "But in the end, the threat has been removed. Amy's gone. Now we can all go home and relax"

"Well, we're going home now," Angel said

"Come back with us to Scotland," said Buffy, "So Dawn can get her stuff"

"Dawn's going to Los Angeles with you?" Giles asked

"She's living with us and before anyone says anything else, it was her idea and Buffy agreed," Angel said, "And Connor's"

"Hey"

††††††††††

"Got everything?" Buffy asked

"Yeah, I think so," Dawn answered, "Besides, if I forgot anything, I could just call you and ask real nicely"

"Yeah, I'm sure you would"

"Well, I think that's all, so I guess I'll be going now?"

"Yeah. Have fun and be good, okay?"

"Yeah right"

Dawn gave Buffy a hug, before leaving her room where Connor was waiting

"Ready to go?" he asked

"Yeah"

"Dad!"

Angel came running along and stopped before the trio

"Ready?"

"Yeah"

"Okay. I guess we'll be seeing you around sometime?" Angel asked

"Yeah," Buffy answered, "Sooner rather than later would be nice"

"Hopefully. We'll see. We might be busy getting this one in"

"Hey"

"Peaches! Are you ready yet? We're bored," came Spike's voice

"And that's our cue to go," said Angel

Connor and Dawn turned and began walking away, as Angel faced Buffy

"It was good seeing you. Bad time and place, but still good"

"Same here. You take care now and watch over Dawn for me"

"No worries. You take care of yourself"

"Goodbye Angel"

"Bye Buffy"

Angel turned and left, as Buffy headed towards the window, looking down at the courtyard where Spike, Dawn, Connor, Faith, Illyria, Gwen and Oz were waiting, as Angel arrived a few minutes later, before leading everyone out of the courtyard

A smile appeared on Buffy's face as she watched her sister leave. She was happy for Dawn to be growing up and making her own decisions, to decide what she wanted and what she was doing

"Enjoying the view?" came Xander's voice

Buffy looked at him and saw Willow and James with him

"I guess"

"So, Dawnie's gone now?" Willow said, "How you feeling, Buff?"

"Happy for her. She deserves it"

"So now what?" James asked

"We continued doing what we always do," Buffy answered, "Saving the world"

††††††††††

**And that concludes the story as planned. If you want a sequel or a continuation of this story with more chapters, or even for this to just be finished with a final chapter, please review and let me know what you think**


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